Former Pakistan president sets mid-March return

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf says he will return home from self-imposed exile this month to run in parliamentary elections despite facing arrest warrants in connection with the slaying of an ex-prime minister.

Musharrraf has not followed through on previous pledges to return to Pakistan.

But he told reporters on Friday that he would head back in mid-March, as soon as an interim government is in place.

He said he would lead his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, in elections later this spring.

Musharrraf took power in a 1999 coup and stepped down in 2008. He has since lived in Dubai and London. He faces allegations he was part of a conspiracy to assassinate ex-premier Benazir Bhutto in late 2007. He denies any wrongdoing in connection with her slaying.