- ISLAMABAD -- Contrary to
claims made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that a bomb blast at
a bridge near Rawalpindi was directed specifically at him, highly placed
sources here say that he may have engineered the incident to retain Washington's
support as a key ally in the war against terror and to strengthen his hold
on power.
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- The sources on conditions of anonymity further went on
to say that it was ironical that no one had as yet claimed responsibility
for the blast. It was also inexplicable that the incumbent establishment
was continuing to maintain a stoic silence about who may have been behind
the so-called assassination bid.
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- It was their suspicion that Musharraf may have used the
'bid on his life' to convince the United States that he was still their
best hope in Pakistan and in the South Asian region for cooperation as
far as tackling the menace of global terrorism is concerned.
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- Domestically too, Musharraf may have wanted to send a
message across to the Bush administration that attempts to remove him from
power at this juncture, could damage efforts to usher in a democratic,
secular system of government, especially in the wake of reports that religious
extremism and militant activity were raising their ugly heads again.
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- On Sunday, Musharraf described the explosion that occurred
after his presidential motorcade had passed as a "terrorist act."
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- "When I came back from my tour of Sindh and as I
was going back from Chaklala and we crossed the Amar Chowk Bridge, there
was an explosion just half a minute or one minute after we crossed. I felt
the explosion in my car. That is all that I know, except of course that
it was certainly a terrorist act and certainly it was me who was targeted."
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- He said that such incidents were not new to him, adding
that it was the third attempt on his life since he had assumed power in
a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999.
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- "Let me say with confidence, I am used to ... such
incidents have happened before also," he said.
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