ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Friday extended the custody of former dictator Pervez Musharraf, dampening hopes he would be able to leave the country any time soon following months of house arrest.

“The judicial magistrate (Malik Aman) extended the custody of Pervez Musharraf till October 29,” Iftikhar Chattha, an investigation officer, told news agency Reuters, adding that the investigation had not yet finished.

A previously ordered 14-day judicial remand for Musharraf was supposed to end Friday (today) though investigators requested the magistrate to extend the remand.

Musharraf was arrested two weeks ago on charges related a 2007 raid on the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) – just as his lawyer announced the former ruler was free to leave the country after being granted bail in another, unrelated case.

Despite his arrest, Musharraf is not being held in a jail with common criminals. Friday’s hearing was held at his villa on the outskirts of Islamabad. The house has been declared a sub-jail by the authorities.

Musharraf was booked in the murder case of Lal Masjid cleric Rasheed Ghazi on Sept 2 after Haroon Rasheed, the cleric’s son, approached the IHC for registering an FIR against the former dictator for launching the 2007 operation. During the operation, 102 people – 10 army men, one Rangers official, 3 civilians and 88 people inside the mosque – had died.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but was forced into exile nine years later after a showdown with the judiciary. He returned to Pakistan this year to contest May elections but was barred from contesting by a flurry of court cases.

Musharraf is also embroiled in four other cases: the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, the detention of deposed Supreme Court judges and the declaration of emergency on Nov 3, 2007.