(Image Source: Telegraph)

BY EMOKE BEBIAK

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

Former president Pervez Musharraf is considering delaying his return to Pakistan to avoid jail. The former leader was planning to return to his country at the end of January, but now he fears he might be arrested once he arrives.

According to Indian Express, Musharraf made a definitive decision to change his plans.

“Sources said that the decision came apparently after the former dictator was again warned by the Pakistani government that he would be arrested from airport [sic] upon his arrival.”

But the Telegraph reports the decision is not final yet. Musharraf, who came to power as a military leader in 1999, has lived in exile since 2008 to avoid prosecution. According to the Pakistani Express Tribune, the country’s interior minister told the Senate on Wednesday...

“I assure this house that if he lands in Pakistan, he will be arrested because he is a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.”

Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s former prime minister, who was assassinated in 2007. While Mussaraf blamed the attack on the Taliban, prosecutors found he played a role in it. (Video: Al Jazeera)

An analyst explains to CNN why Musharraf wants to return to Pakistan in the first place.

“Musharraf, like many politicians in Pakistan, is very proud, very confident, very stubborn, and he believes in this narrative very common there that he can essentially be this man that just swoops in and rescues the country.”

But Rupee News writes Musharraf’s return would put the army in a tough spot, which might have something to do with his decision to delay his trip...

“Analysts believe that the army had said that it could not assure the security of Mr. Musharraf, and did not want to be in the uncomfortable position of having a Chief of Army Staff in jail. With Musharraf in jail, the army would be constrained to defend him–something that it did want to do.”

Musharraf was originally planning to return for Pakistan’s general elections coming up next month to help his party--the All Pakistan Muslim League.