Islamabad - Pakistan's intelligence agencies have foiled a
plot to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf in the southern port
city of Karachi and arrested several al-Qaeda members, officials said
Thursday.
'The arrests were made quite recently in a joint operation by
various law enforcement agencies in the Malir area of the city,'
Major Asad Ali, a spokesman for the country's Rangers paramilitary
force, said.
He said the militants were planning to blow up a bridge on which
Musharraf's motorcade was to travel on its way from the airport into
the city. But he refused to say when the alleged assassination
attempt was supposed to take place or how many people were arrested
in connection with the plot.
'The arrests are a great success,' Ali said. 'We will provide
further information to the media once investigations are completed.'
Musharraf has survived at least three assassinations attempts by
al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants since 2001, after he dropped
support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and allied Pakistan with the
United States following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
On December 14, 2003, al-Qaeda-linked militants detonated a bomb
under Musharraf's motorcade as it reached a bridge near his official
residence in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. But hi-tech jamming
devices installed in his limousine delayed the explosion by seven
seconds, allowing the convoy to cross the bridge before it collapsed.
Only eleven days later, two suicide bombers rammed
explosives-laden cars into Musharraf's motorcade just meters away
from the site of previous attacks, killing some 16 people, including
several policemen. The president's limousine was heavily damaged but
he escaped unharmed.
In July, Musharraf again narrowly escaped an assassination attempt
when suspected Islamic militants fired an anti-aircraft gun at his
airplane as it took off from Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
klaus hoozenforstMay 12th, 2008 - 20:48:26
Does anyone know what type of RF Jammer Musharraf is using? I am looking into finding the same or similar RF Jammers for use in Kabul for a team of reporters. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Klaus Hoozenforst
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