Deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formally been arrested as a main accused by the military government under a case registered on charges of attempted murder, hijacking and criminal conspiracy.

Sharif has been brought to Karachi, where the airport police arrested him, from Islamabad in a military plane under strict security arrangements, informed sources said Sunday.

Sharif will be tried in an anti-terrorism court in Karachi which has booked the case against the former prime minister.

A case was registered in the Karachi airport police station last Wednesday night, charging Sharif and four of his men with denying landing to Army Chief General Pervaiz Musharraf's plane on October 12.

Those charged along with Sharif are his advisor on Sindh affairs Syed Ghous Ali Shah, former Inspector General of Sindh Rana Maqbool Ahmad, former Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former Civil Aviation Authority Director General Aminullah Chaudhry.

Since the dismissal of his government in a coup on October 12, Sharif and some of his close allies have been under "protective custody" by the army.