Musharraf, 69, landed Jinnah International airport in Karachi by a chartered Emirates flight from Dubai.
Police officials said he will be directly taken out of the airport to his ultimate destination from the airport's old building due to security reasons.
In a message posted on Twitter shortly before he boarded a flight from Dubai, Musharraf wrote: "I will arrive in Karachi today, March 24th, at 1pm & address a public rally at the airport at 5 pm in the evening."
He later tweeted another photo of himself "settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home".
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Hours before his return, authorities in Karachi cancelled permission for a meeting that was to be addressed by Musharraf at a ground near the mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Sindh police spokesman SSP Imran Shaukat said the no-objection certificate for the public meeting to be addressed by Musharraf had been withdrawn due to "serious security threats" to the former President.
"The APML has agreed to cancel the public meeting," he said.
The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan said it had formed a squad of suicide bombers to target Musharraf on his return.
In another message posted on Twitter, Musharraf said Pakistan "must crush terrorism and extremism".
Musharraf left Pakistan in early 2009 after a string of civil and criminal cases were filed against him in courts across the country.
Several of the cases related to steps he had taken during the emergency he imposed in late 2007.
Musharraf obtained pre-arrest bail from the Sindh High Court ahead of his return.