Sunday, December 14, 2003

Meanwhile, it seems to be business as usual among the real terrorists:

Pakistani authorities were last night investigating whether the country's military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, was the target of an assassination attempt after a bomb detonated on a road minutes after his motorcade passed.

The explosion happened about a mile from the Islamabad International Airport as the president was returning home after a visit to the southern city of Karachi. Witnesses said the blast occurred at a bridge close to a military compound. Sheharyar Khan, whose car was stopped at a roadblock shortly afterwards, said: "As the president's motorcade passed, a huge explosion blew up the bridge."

...Talat Masood, a former senior defence official, said it was too early to say who was behind yesterday's attack, but the most likely suspects were extremist religious forces opposed to Mr Musharraf's policy on Afghanistan and his efforts to reform Islamic schools that have become hotbeds of radicalism.

Mr Masood said: "I think these are the forces who want to eliminate him."...


--The Independent

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