( CNN ) -- A Pakistani court Tuesday indicted President Pervez Musharraf , charging him with murder in the death of the country 's first female prime minister , Benazir Bhutto . It marked the first time an ex-military chief has been indicted with a crime in the country , his spokesman Raza Bokhari said . The court charged Musharraf with murder , criminal conspiracy to murder , and facilitation of murder . Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-suicide attack in December 2007 , shortly after she came back to Pakistan from self-imposed exile to take part in the 2008 general elections . Musharraf was president and military chief at the time , and Bhutto was a leading opposition figure . Bhutto 's son steps into the political spotlight . Musharraf was in court Tuesday for the indictment . He denies any involvement in Bhutto 's death . The next court proceedings in the case are scheduled for August 27 . `` The politically motivated indictment ... is not only false , fabricated and fictitious , but is also an undignified attempt to smear the honor and integrity of the former president on the world stage , '' Musharraf spokesman Raza Bokhari said in a statement . The indictment comes after a preliminary judicial process in which authorities presented their case against him . The indictment means that the court concluded he has to answer for the allegations . Although Musharraf has been accused of other crimes in the country , no other cases have gotten as far as an indictment . Just two weeks ago , Musharraf 's attorney said Musharraf was expected to be charged with failing to provide adequate security for Bhutto -- not murder . After the assassination , Musharraf 's government blamed former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud , saying he had paid a network of Islamist militants to carry out the killing . Bhutto had the `` same security and threats '' that Musharraf faces now , Bokhari told CNN Tuesday . `` It is unfair to blame a sitting head of state for complicity in a violent action that occurs in a country . '' After the general elections in 2008 in which his party was trounced , Musharraf stepped down as the governing coalition began taking steps to impeach him . He then went into self-imposed exile . From president to exile . Earlier this year , he returned to Pakistan in an attempt to revive his political career . It did n't work . Instead , he 's become entangled in a thicket of court cases related to his time as the country 's top leader . He has been under house arrest since April . He is under investigation for the 2006 assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti , a popular tribal leader , in the volatile province of Balochistan . He is also accused of detaining judges and their family members and wrongdoing related to the storming of the Lal Masjid mosque , where militants had holed up . Musharraf has been under house arrest in the suburbs of Islamabad . Along with him , nine others face related accusations , including three senior police officers . The recently elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif , a longtime political foe of Musharraf , has also suggested that the former military ruler should stand trial for treason . Sharif has accused Musharraf of illegally abrogating the constitution in November 2007 . That month , Musharraf declared a state of emergency , suspended Pakistan 's constitution , replaced the chief judge and blacked out independent TV outlets . Musharraf said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamic extremism . Such a prosecution of a former top general would be likely to strain the already delicate relations between Sharif and Pakistan 's powerful military . Pakistan votes : Key moments of a turbulent past . CNN 's Khushbu Shah contributed to this report .
Musharraf 's spokesman calls the accusation `` false , fabricated and fictitious '' Musharraf was in court for the indictment . Pakistan 's first female prime minister was killed while campaigning in 2007 . Musharraf has been under house arrest since April .