KARACHI, 22 December 2004 — Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was put under house detention yesterday as a court ordered his arrest in a murder case, just a month after he had been freed on bail.

Zardari was arrested at the airport near the capital Islamabad where he had been due to address a major opposition rally that could have been politically embarrassing to President Pervez Musharraf.

Zardari’s detention will shatter hopes of a reconciliation between Benazir’s party and Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and is currently facing criticism for reneging on a promise to stand down as army chief.

Benazir, in an interview with Pakistan’s Geo television, called Zardari’s rearrest illegal because he was not notified before his bail was canceled. “Legally, we think this is a wrong step,” Benazir said.

About 1,000 Benazir party supporters clashed with police at the airport, located in the city of Rawalpindi, before Zardari’s arrival.

Police fired tear gas shells and swung batons to control the crowd that had broken windows as it tried to force its way into the VIP lounge. Several people were injured in the violence, and police took away some 30 men and 15 women in trucks. Several of the women were dragged along the ground.

Zardari was later flown back to Karachi where he was allowed to address assembled reporters before being confined to his high-walled bungalow, which was guarded by about two dozen armed policemen.

He accused the authorities of political victimization and heavy-handed action against his supporters.

“The rulers are afraid of me. I am not going to launch any movement ... I am trying to save Pakistan,” the former senator and Cabinet minister said.

“I had spoken of compromise after coming out of jail but I was arrested. I will be free again and will continue my efforts for democracy.”

Early yesterday, a Karachi court ordered Zardari’s rearrest, citing his failure to attend a trial into the 1996 murders of a former judge and his son he is accused of plotting, said Shahadat Awan, a lawyer for Zardari.

“He was released on court order and now he was been arrested on a court order,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters.