The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented a charge sheet in the court against Musharraf and Baitullah Mehsud, who are allegedly involved in Bhutto’s murder.

The report compiled by the FIA held Musharraf responsible for the security lapse that led to the assassination of Bhutto.

Former Director General of the Intelligence Bureau Brig. Ijaz Shah and former Director General National Crisis Management Cell Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema have become approvers in this high-profile case. There are a few other cases pending against Musharraf including his decision to impose a state of emergency in the country; military operation on the Red Mosque; and the killing of Akbar Bugti.

According to The Associated Press, the developments mark a major escalation of legal troubles for the former president, a one-time US ally who went into self-exile in Britain in 2008 after being forced out of the presidency he secured in a 1999 military coup.

The accusations of a role in Bhutto's death were leveled by a government now run by Musharraf's rivals. They make it nearly impossible for him to fulfill pledges to return to Pakistan and lead a new political party.

Bhutto was killed on Dec. 27, 2007, in a gun and suicide bomb attack after returning to Pakistan to campaign in elections Musharraf agreed to allow after months of domestic and international pressure. Musharraf blamed the Pakistani Taleban, an Al-Qaeda affiliated group, for the attack, but government prosecutors now allege he was part of the plot to kill the popular former premier.

“A joint investigation team in its report to the court has found Musharraf guilty of being involved in the conspiracy and abetting to kill Benazir Bhutto,” said Zulfikar Ali Chaudhry, the lead prosecutor.

He said the probe has evidence that Musharraf was “completely involved” through Baitullah Mehsud, the late leader of the Pakistani Taleban, and that prosecutors are seeking a murder trial. He did not elaborate.

Musharraf has always denied any role in Bhutto's death and scoffed at critics who said he did not do enough to protect her. Mehsud, who was killed in a US missile strike in 2009, also denied targeting Bhutto.

Musharraf's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Saif, said his client was innocent of any allegations but had no plans to contest them in court, where he's been ordered to appear on Feb. 19. “This is just a drama. It is all politics,” Saif told The Associated Press. He said Pakistani investigators never tried to reach Musharraf about the case, whose proceedings are closed to the public.

The new accusations and arrest warrant stem from a case against two security officials accused of being derelict in their duties to protect Bhutto. Musharraf has not been indicted, but the court is conducting preliminary hearings about the accusations against him, and he will have an opportunity to defend himself.

A UN investigation into the assassination said Musharraf's government didn't do enough to ensure Bhutto's security and criticized steps taken by investigators after her death, including hosing down the crime scene and failing to perform an autopsy.

The UN officials were not tasked with finding out who the exact culprits behind the killing were. But they identified two main threats facing Bhutto _ extremists like Al-Qaeda and the Taleban who opposed her links to the West and secular outlook, and members of the “Pakistani Establishment,” the term used locally to refer to a powerful and shady network of military, intelligence, political and business leaders said to actually control the country.

After her death, Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party rode a wave of public sympathy to garner the most seats in the February 2008 elections. Months later, the party forced Musharraf to quit the presidency by threatening impeachment. He later left for London, and has since spent a good deal of time on the lecture circuit, including in the United States.

Britain does not have an extradition treaty with Pakistan, but the British government can decide to extradite those accused of crimes on a case-by-case basis.

Federal Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said if the court requests it, the government will contact Interpol about bringing Musharraf in.