Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the former president who was hounded out of the country after nine years atop a military government, has said he will return to Pakistan to participate in elections.

Musharraf could be arrested as he steps off the plane, on charges—which he calls “baseless”—related to the 2007 assassination of current President Asif Ali Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto was campaigning as the leading opposition candidate when she was killed.

The BBC reports that Musharraf says he is not worried about arrest:

“I’ve been threatened and warned but I’m not one of those who gets scared or backs down,” he told supporters.

“I’ve fought wars. I’ll come to Pakistan.”

Musharraf was a visible ally of the United States during the Bush administration, which, as much as tyranny, may have led to his downfall in Pakistan. Washington and Islamabad are barely on speaking terms these days, with deadly U.S. incursions into Pakistani territory and the discovery of Osama bin Laden living in a Pakistani military town giving both sides cause for outrage. — PZS