NEW DELHI, April 30 (RAPSI, Alexander Nevara) - The Rawalpindi court in Pakistan has extended the house arrest of former president Pervez Musharraf, accused of murdering former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, for 14 days, the Pakistani TV channel Geo News reported on Tuesday.

As a result, Musharraf will remain under house arrest through May 11, the day of the parliamentary elections he had been planning to run in. The former president did not attend Tuesday's hearing for safety reasons. The police on Monday warned there was risk he may be kidnapped and asked the authorities, if possible, not to remove him from his Chak Shahzad home near Islamabad.

Musharraf seized power of Pakistan by way of a successful coup detat in 1999. He retained control until a dramatic series of events led him to relinquish his power in 2008.

The former army chief returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years of exile, to take part in the elections. He applied to run for the National Assembly, but the court barred him from running due to Musharraf's alleged violation of the constitution in 2007 when he declared a state of emergency.

On April 18, the court ordered Musharraf's arrest for illegally arresting Supreme Court judges in 2007. He was placed under house arrest on April 19. He is also suspected of involvement in the murders of Baloch tribal leader Akbar Bugti and ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto was assassinated in a bombing on December 27, 2007 during a pre-election rally in Rawalpindi. The charges against Musharraf are based on the former city police chief's testimony who told the investigators that Bhutto's guards had been called off duty on Musharraf's orders.