Musharraf announces he will return to Pakistan late this month

"I am coming, Pakistan," Musharraf told thousands of supporters via video link in the southern city of Karachi. "Attempts have been made to scare me, but I am not afraid of anything."

He pledged to return between January 27 and 30.

When he does, Pakistani officials said, Musharraf will be arrested in connection with the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, a special public prosecutor in the assassination case, said a Rawalpindi court has already issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf.

"They are bound to execute the order unless a higher court sets aside the orders," Ali said, adding that Musharraf is accused of conspiring in the assassination.

Musharraf's attorney, Chaudry Faisal, said the threat of arrest is politically motivated and has no legal bearing. The warrant is being challenged in court, the attorney said.

He described the claim that Musharraf could be arrested at any time upon return as "absurd."

The former president said Sunday that he will return even at the risk of his life. Speaking to CNN after addressing the crowd in Karachi, Musharraf said he had declined to provide a specific date because of security concerns. He spoke about the possibility of arrest, but said he expects he will be fine, so long as "the judiciary plays its just role, and there are no interruptions."

"There is a vacuum in Pakistan of trustworthy leaders, which is being filled by others. To exploit this vacuum, I have to be back now," Musharraf said.

He described his support as scattered, and said he needs to build it again from the ground up.

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