KARACHI, Jan 9: Sindh's Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wasan has said former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf will be arrested soon after his arrival at the Karachi airport.

Talking to journalists at his residence, Mr Wasan said Gen Musharraf's arrest warrants issued by an anti-terrorism court of Rawalpindi in the Benazir Bhutto's assassination case had been received by the home department.

Besides the warrants, the home minister said the retired general had been declared a proclaimed offender and, therefore, he would be taken into custody at the airport and sent to Landhi jail.

Responding to a question, the minister said the Sindh government would hand him over to the Balochistan government where the high-profile case of Nawab Akbar Bugti's assassination was pending against the former military ruler.

The minister also said it would be the first time in the history of Pakistan that a civilian government would put behind bars a retired army chief and former president.

In reply to another question, he said he did not need any permission for his arrest because it was an obligation to carry out orders of the court.

He said that in accordance with rules, Gen Musharraf would be kept in Class C in the Landhi prison, but if a court issued an order about giving him the facility of A or B class, it would be carried out. He added that giving prisoners a better class was the prerogative of the court and not of a minister.