KARACHI - One of President General Pervez
Musharraf's most trusted soldiers, Lieutenant-General
Ahsan Saleem Hayat, commander V Corps (Karachi),
survived an assassination attempt on Thursday morning
when gunmen opened fire on his motorcade in the troubled
port city of Karachi. At least six people were killed
and 10 injured.
About seven minutes after the
attack, a bomb exploded near where the corps commander's
convoy had been attacked. Judging from this, it appears
that the plan had been to first bomb the motorcade,
and when it came to a halt, rake it with gunfire.
Seemingly, the bomb went off late. No arrests have been made and no group has
claimed responsibility.
Hayat is the top
military official in Pakistan's largest city of 14
million people, which over the past month has been
rocked by terrorist attacks and unrest that has killed
dozens of people.
Initial indications are that the
attack could be an inside army job. The gunmen took
positions on both sides of the road and managed to plant
the bomb in one of the most secure zones in Karachi,
only
a kilometer from the US consulate and a few meters
away from the heavily guarded Iranian Cultural Center.
The area itself, Bath Island, is home to many high
profile officials, including the inspector general of
police and the corps commanders.
The first of
three known assassination attempts on Musharraf since he
took power five years ago was staged in Karachi in April
2002, when a car packed with explosives on his motorcade
route failed to detonate because of a malfunction. He
has blamed an attack late last year in Islamabad on
junior officers within the army.
Speaking to
this correspondent, a spokesperson of the Inter-Services
Public Relations, who was at the site soon after the
blast, commented that it was "a pure act of terror" and
the army was not exactly the target. "Had the army been
the target, why were civilians and policemen hit?" he
asked.
However, it is no major secret that all
is not well in the army. The federal budget is due to be
announced by June 12, after which Musharraf is expected
to begin a process of consolidating his power as
president before he relinquishes his uniform before
December 31, as per a constitutional requirement.
This will also involve several important changes
in the army, with two new generals to be appointed
following retirements. These posts are expected to go to
Musharraf's close associates, rather than those in line
for promotion. Hayat, survivor of Thursday's attack, is
tipped to be one of the new generals.
Among the
middle and junior ranks, meanwhile, many in the armed
forces bitterly oppose Musharraf's pro-US stance, and
they are ideologically still in the time zone when
Pakistan supported the Taliban in Afghanistan.
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and when it came to a halt, rake it with gunfire.
Seemingly, the bomb went off late.
a kilometer from the US consulate and a few meters
away from the heavily guarded Iranian Cultural Center.
The area itself, Bath Island, is home to many high
profile officials, including the inspector general of
police and the corps commanders. 
