A massive suicide bomb ripped through a crowded road near the capital yesterday in a failed attempt to assassinate President General Pervez Musharraf, a senior government official said. The president was unhurt, but at least seven passers-by were killed.
It was the second attack this month targeting the military president, and came just a day after he agreed to step down as army chief by the end of next year.
The blast occurred when a suicide bomber rammed a pickup truck into a police vehicle in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital, Islamabad, at about 1:45pm. Eyewitnesses reported seeing body parts, shattered cars and broken glass along the route.
PHOTO: AFP
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the suicide attack appeared to be aimed at Musharraf, and that the Pakistani leader was safe.
"The president's motorcade had just passed and about half a minute later the explosion went off," one eyewitness, Nasir Sadiqi, told Pakistan's Geo television.
Abdur Rauf Chaudry, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the dead appeared to all be passers-by. Fourteen other people were injured, including two policemen, Chaudry said.
General Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman, said officials are investigating.
Police and soldiers quickly cordoned off the area and ambulances rushed to the site. About 15 cars were destroyed in the attack and windows from nearby buildings were shattered.
The blast occurred just 300m from the spot where would-be assassins detonated a huge bomb on Dec. 14 in a failed attempt to assassinate Musharraf. High-tech jamming devices in the president's motorcade apparently delayed the detonation long enough for him to pass by safely.
Islamic militant groups were believed behind that attack, though no major arrests have been made. Government officials have speculated that al-Qaeda might have had a hand in the first attempt, which employed a sophisticated bomb hidden in five places on a bridge.
Security is always tight when Musharraf travels, with roads closed to allow his long motorcade to pass and heavily-armed soldiers surrounding his vehicle. Musharraf lives at the heavily-guarded army headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Security measures were even more stringent yesterday as Pakistan's tiny Christian community celebrated Christmas.
The attack came a day after Musharraf agreed to step-down as army chief by the end of next year, ending a political stalemate that had paralyzed parliament and stalled this nation's return to democracy.
Musharraf called his decision "difficult."
"I realize that it's time. I have decided that I will give up my uniform by December 2004 and will step down as Chief of Army Staff," he said on state television.
Speaking in Urdu and wearing military dress, Musharraf added: "These are all historic decisions. Nobody has won or lost because of these decisions. Democracy has won and the victory is Pakistan's."
Musharraf made the decision as part of a deal with the opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) -- an alliance of six Islamic opposition parties -- which have promised to abstain in a vote of confidence in the government expected early next year.
The agreement is likely to see the general's term in office extended until 2007, although any weakening of his links to the military could undermine his position.
Although he does not come away from the deal empty-handed, Musharraf's concessions could raise eyebrows in the West.
A key ally in the US "war on terror," Musharraf has been hailed as instrumental to Pakistan's economic recovery and its crackdown on Islamic militancy.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including