Militants failed to shoot down President Musharraf’s plane today as it was taking off from an Islamabad military base.
A combo picture shows a long barrelled anti-aircraft gun (L) and a machinegun (R) after reports that President Pervez Musharraf’s aircraft was fired on from the rooftop of a house in the garrison town of Rawalpindi July 6, 2007. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s plane was fired on as it took off on Friday from a military airfield in Rawalpindi, an intelligence officer said, contradicting official denials. (REUTERS/Mian Khursheed)
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf survived an assassination attempt today as his plane was taking off from a military base in Islamabad:
Shots were fired after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s plane took off from a military base on Friday in what one official described as a failed assassination attempt.
“It was an unsuccessful effort by miscreants to target the president’s plane,” a senior security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record. “They fled quickly, and our security agencies are still investigating.”
Security forces quickly surrounded a house in Rawalpindi, a garrison city south of the capital. Three other officials told the AP that two anti-aircraft guns and a light machine gun were found on the rooftop.
The senior security official said Musharraf was aboard the plane at the time, although he insisted that the president was not within the range of the attackers’ weapons.
Television footage from an overlooking building showed a large gun pointed skyward next to a satellite dish as security officials rushed around. It was unclear if the gun had been fired.
This is not the first attempt on President Musharraf’s life. Reuters has A LIST of previous assassination attempts on Musharraf.
Pakistani military spokesman Major Gen. Waheed Arshad denied the shots were fired at Musharraf’s plane.
The attack did not appear to slow down Musharraf as he was seen hours later comforting flood victims in Turbat, Pakistan.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf comforts a flood victim during a visit to storm-hit town of Turbat, 550 km (344 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan July 6, 2007. Shots were fired from the rooftop of a house overflown by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s aircraft as it took off from Rawalpindi on Friday, but the government was unable to say if the plane was targeted. (Reuters)
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