Pakistani president escapes apparent assassination attempt

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 15, 2003

Pakistani president escapes apparent assassination attempt

A bomb exploded Sunday evening shortly after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's convoy passed a bridge in Rawalpindi, the twin city of Islamabad, said military spokesman Maj.Gen. Shaukat Sultan.

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A bomb exploded Sunday evening shortly after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's convoy passed a bridge in Rawalpindi, the twin city of Islamabad, said military spokesman Maj.Gen. Shaukat Sultan.

"The president's cavalcade passed a minute before the blast. He is safe and sound. There is no loss of life or property," said the spokesman.

While terming the incident as a "terrorist act", he said it was too early to say whether it was an assassination attempt against the life of the president or not until further investigations were conducted.

Confirming the explosion, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said the powerful blast ripped off a section of the bridge.

No casualties have been reported so far in the blast which occurred at 7:15 p.m. local time, said local police, adding that the area has been cordoned off.

This is the latest attack Musharraf has managed to escape in the past years. Early last year in the southern port city of Karachi, some terrorists failed to kill him with a car bomb due to its deactivation.

Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 in the United States, Musharraf aligned Pakistan with Washington in the fight against terror, which has annoyed the sectarian extremists and terrorists in the country, who vowed to assassinate him by all means.

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