ISLAMABAD -- Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was arrested early Friday after he fled a court on Thursday when a judge ordered him detained on treason charges.

Musharraf's lawyer Qamar Afzal told NBC News, "Musharraf has surrendered himself before the law, and now he is in judicial custody."

Television footage showed Musharraf being escorted by uniformed police officers to an Islamabad court.

Earlier, Musharraf  had said he was being "punished for making Pakistan prosper and for making the country economically sound."

In a brief televised address that was distributed to different Pakistani channels, Musharraf claimed credit for bringing an "information revolution to Pakistan, breaking the shackles of IMF, building roads and protecting women and minorities. That's why I'm being punished."

Musharraf, a retired general, took power in Pakistan in a coup in 1999 and was an ally of the West until he resigned in 2008.

After nearly four years of self-imposed exile in England and despite Taliban death threats, he returned to Pakistan last month hoping to win a seat in the country’s National Assembly in elections in May.

But Musharraf was then accused of treason over events in 2007, when he declared emergency rule during a power struggle with judges. He had been on bail.

During a High Court hearing on Thursday, however, a judge ordered that his bail be canceled and that he be detained.

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Then, in dramatic scenes caught on television, Musharraf dashed from the court and left in a black SUV, Reuters reported. The images showed several lawyers making half-hearted attempts to pursue his vehicle.

When he returned to Pakistan, Musharraf was given a security detail -- including special forces units, police and helicopters -- and they helped him get back to his home on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Rashid Qureshi, an adviser to Musharraf and also a former general, said that Musharraf was “safe” in the house.

“Roadblocks have been planted outside his house by the police to protect him, not to cut off his exit. The general is here to stay. He knew of these challenges when he decided to return boldly to Pakistan,” Qureshi said.

“He is still being protected by the police, and did not escape anything or anyone,” he said.

Musharraf's lawyer Afzal said later that the former president had filed petitions in the Supreme Court, hoping it would overturn the High Court's ruling.

Afzal had insisted Musharraf "did not flee" the court. "He came and left with the same security detail attached to him by the government, which is his right as a former president." 

Musharraf's hopes of standing in the elections were dashed earlier this week when election officers barred him from standing, in part due to the various legal challenges he faces, Reuters reported.

Pakistan's military has ruled the nation for more than half of its 66-year history, through coups or from behind the scenes. It sets foreign and security policy even when civilian administrations are in power.

The arrest pushes Pakistan's increasingly audacious judiciary into uncharted territory, challenging a long-standing, unwritten rule that the top ranks of the army, which ruled Pakistan for decades, are untouchable.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, is seen as the front-runner to win the premiership.

Musharraf also faces charges of failing to provide adequate security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto before she was assassinated in late 2007. 

Reuters and NBC News' Ian Johnston contributed to this report.

Related:

Taliban threat forces Pakistan's Musharraf to cancel welcome rally

Analysis from 2007: Should the US support Musharraf?

This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:55 AM EDT

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's interior minister on Wednesday warned an anti-government Muslim cleric and thousands of protesters camped out near parliament to disperse, saying they were at risk of attack by militants.

Rehman Malik said authorities had learned militants might be planning to target the crowd, and that the cleric, Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, would be held responsible for any attacks.

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"The best commandos are with me today," Malik told a news conference, saying security forces could take action against Qadri within the next two days to prevent "expected terrorism."

"I hope that he listens to me.''

Qadri, who backed a military coup in 1999, is calling for the immediate resignation of the government and the installation of a caretaker administration to oversee electoral reforms.

The government was rocked on Tuesday by a Supreme Court order for the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf within 24 hours on suspicion of corruption.

Qadri's appearance at the forefront of Pakistan's political scene has fuelled speculation that the army, which has a long history of involvement in politics, has tacitly endorsed his campaign in an effort to pile more pressure on a government it sees as inept and corrupt.

Qadri and the military deny this.

Pakistan's information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said political leaders would not bow to Qadri's demands.

"All political parties are happy with the Election Commission and elections will happen on time," he said.

He added that elections would take place as scheduled between May 5 and 15.

The opposition Pakistan Muslim League led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif also rejected Qadri's call for the military to play a role in the formation of a caretaker government to oversee the run-up to elections.

"Tahirul Qadri is working on somebody's agenda to derail democracy in Pakistan and we reject all of his demands," Sharif told a news conference.

Qadri's appeal has cast fresh uncertainty over the government's effort to become the first civilian Pakistani administration to complete a full term.

The military has ruled Pakistan for over half of its 65 years since independence. Current chief General Ashfaq Kayani has vowed to keep the military out of politics.

Prime Minister Ashraf remained a free man on Wednesday since officials said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which would carry out the arrest, had not yet received direct orders.

 The officials said the NAB chief would go the Supreme Court on Thursday to discuss the issue.

The ruling coalition, led by the Pakistan People's Party, has a majority in parliament and its lawmakers can simply elect another prime minister if Ashraf is ousted.

In June, Ashraf replaced Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court in a previous showdown between the government and the judiciary.

Pakistan test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, reports said Monday.

The Hatf-VII or Babur missile, which has a range of 435 miles, was test-fired from a specially equipped vehicle in an undisclosed location Monday, The Associated Press reported.

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The statement said the missile had stealth features and could fly close to the ground.

The test was witnessed by Director General Strategic Plans Division Lt. Gen. Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Chairman Muhammad Irfan Burney of the National Engineering and Scientific Commission and senior military officers, according to the Pakistan’s Nation newspaper.

Pakistan and its nuclear-armed rival neighboring India routinely test different versions of their missiles. The two countries have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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ISLAMABAD – Up to 25 Shiites were dragged from passenger buses and killed early Thursday in a suspected sectarian attack, police and government officials said.

The victims were ordered off three buses by unknown gunmen and then shot dead, according to a senior government official.

There have been several such sectarian attacks in the region in the past, including one earlier this year in which 25 Shiites were killed.

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Thursday's attack took place in the remote mountainous Lalusar area of Naran valley in northern Pakistan.

A senior police official said three buses taking passengers from Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to the Astore district of northern Pakistan, were attack early in the morning.

Commissioner Hazara division Khalid Umarzai said 18-25 people are suspected to have been killed.

"According to our information, around 15 armed men who were wearing Pakistan army uniform stopped the buses," Umarzai said. "They disembarked all the passengers and checked their identity cards and then opened fire at them. But this is initial information and death toll could rise as the area is far away and it will take some time in reaching complete information to us."

He said a group of foreign visitors, including a party of Japanese travelers, informed them about the incident.

Police official Shah Nawaz said most of the people traveling in buses were from Shiite Muslim community. He said they were using the Kaghan-Naran route because of previous attacks on the Karakurram highway.

Air base attack
Earlier, militants attacked a military air base in Pakistan, prompting a five-hour firefight that killed two security guards and six attackers and left the base commander seriously injured.

The militants, wearing military uniforms and suicide vests, entered the Kamra airbase, close to the capital, Islamabad.

A Pakistan Air Force spokesman said the militants attacked the air base where JF-17 Thunder planes are assembled. However, the spokesman said those aircraft were not present at the airbase during the attack.

Security officials inside the base said some security personnel have been injured in exchange of fire with the militants.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but Pakistani security officials believed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP headed by Hakimullah Mahsud could be behind the attack.

Pakistani intelligence agencies had released reports a few days ago and said that militants could attack PAF and other military installations during the final week of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.

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A Pakistani airliner crashed just short of landing in Islamabad on Friday, killing all 127 people aboard, the country's Civil Aviation Authority told NBC on Friday.

The Boeing 737 operated by Bhoja Air was flying in from Karachi, the country’s biggest city and business hub, in heavy rain when it broke up, scattering wreckage and bodies across courtyards and roofs of a residential area near the airport, witnesses and authorities said.

"There were 122 passengers and five crew members," said Pervez George, a spokesman for government agency.

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Bhoja Air had been closed down a decade ago after running into financial difficulties and being unable to make payments to civilian Pakistani aviation authorities. It resumed flying March 6, but Friday’s flight from Karachi to Islamabad was the first on that route since then.

The flight data recorder has been located, NBC’s Fakhar Rehman reported from Islamabad, and the so-called or "black box" was expected to reveal why the plane went down. But the apparent cause was that pilots were flying low under heavy clouds and hit high-tension wires as they approached Benazir Bhutto International Airport, he said.

 

Bhoja Air said the airplane crashed during its approach in Islamabad due to bad weather," Reuters reported. There was no indication from the government that it could have been the result of foul play.

Parts of the aircraft smashed into electricity poles, blanketing the area in darkness.

Rescue workers were trying to recover bodies from the charred wreckage of Flight B4-213, Rehman reported, but darkness and rain were making it difficult.

Police said 70 bodies had been transported to hospitals.

"Kids were playing in courtyard of my house when suddenly we saw something falling in our court yards with fire," said Mumtaz Ali, a resident of Hussain Abad in the outskirts of Islamabad where the plane crashed. "You can see the wreckage on the roof and back yard too. Thank God nobody on the ground was injured or killed as people were inside their homes because of rain."

Islamabad police chief Bani Yameen said nobody on the ground was reported killed, "but apparently all on board perished," according to Reuters.

At the airport people awaiting passengers thronged the airline counter.

A man who had been waiting at the airport for the flight yelled, “My two daughters are dead,'' as tears streamed down his face, according to Reuters, while others awaiting passengers crowded around lists of those on board.

Pakistan army chief vows not to give up on avalanche victims

Nearby, relatives of passengers hugged each other and sobbed. One man cried, "my kids, my kids," Reuters said.

Zarina Bibi was desperately trying to determine if her husband was among the passengers of the ill-fated plane.

"He called me before leaving Karachi, but I don't know if he was on this flight or not," said Bibi told the news agency. 

The last major aviation accident in Pakistan occurred in July 2010, when a commercial airliner operated by AirBlue with 152 people on board crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad.

Pakistan: A nation in turmoil

In 2006, a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed near the central city of Multan, killing 45 people.

In a statement on its website Boeing Company said it "wishes to extend its profound condolences to the families and friends'' of the Bhoja Air passengers.

NBC News' Carol Grisanti contributed to this report.

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ISLAMABAD -- Taliban factions in Pakistan have agreed to avoid killing or kidnapping innocent civilians but threatened they would continue suicide attacks and fighting against the country's security forces and their allies.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), headed by Hakimullah Mahsud, also confirmed it would continue to take part in attacks in Afghanistan.

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Victims of the Taliban in Pakistan include Daniel Pearl, the American Wall Street Journal reporter abducted in Karachi in 2002 and beheaded. His remains were found in a shallow grave on the city's outskirts three months later.

"Yes we signed accord with three other major Taliban groups of Maulvi Nazeer, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and an Afghan Taliban faction to avoid killing of innocent people and kidnapping for ransom but we did not agree with them to stop suicide attacks and our fight against Pakistani security forces," TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan told NBC News by telephone from somewhere in the tribal areas.

The TTP, he said, has neither announced any ceasefire nor has any plan to do so in the near future, warning that their fighters would continue their operations in Pakistan.

He denied reports, attributed to Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar, that the TTP would move its attacks from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

"Look, for us Pakistan is as important as Afghanistan, therefore we can not stop our activities here," he insisted.

He also denied differences between the TTP leadership, saying Hakimullah Mahsud was still leader of the Pakistani Taliban and Maulana Waliur Rahman as his deputy.

Pakistan media have reported conflicting statements over a possible peace process between the government and militant groups since September, when political parties urged a new effort at seeking talks.

Militants and troops have continued to fight in several of the seven ethnic Pashtun tribal districts that form the main base of the Taliban movement.

Almost 20,000 people have been killed in insurgent violence in Pakistan since 2009, according to a database maintained by the New Delhi, India-based South Asia Terrorism portal.

Two people were killed and 15 wounded when a homemade bomb exploded in a market in Peshawar, capital of the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, police officials said on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.

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Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.