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.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS