Attack on Musharraf widely condemned

* Pervaiz Elahi, Khaild Maqbool, Mohammadmian Soomro, Nourez Shakooor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, Sardar Ali Muhammad Mehr and others grieved

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, condemning the Thursday explosion, said such elements wanted to destabilise the democratic process. He expressed his grief and sorrow over the loss of lives during the attack.

Punjab Governor Lt General (r) Khalid Maqbool called the attack a cowardly act, also blaming it on elements who wanted to destabilise the country.

Chairman Senate Mohammmad Mian Soomro said only investigation would reveal who was behind the Rawalpindi explosion. He hoped the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit would take place on schedule.

Petroleum Minister Nouraiz Shakoor said it was the second attack in ten days on Gen Musharraf’s life and those responsible for the incident would not be spared.

The minister directed the concerned authorities to increase security arrangements at petrol pumps across the country.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Sardar Ali Muhammad Khan Mehr condemned the suicide attack and reiterated the government’s commitment to continue fight against terrorism under the leadership of Gen Musharraf.

They directed officials to ensure security of life and property of people in the province.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) condemned the attack on President Pervez Musharraf, calling for solid steps to root out the menace of terrorism from Pakistan.

In a meeting chaired by Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sikander Hayat Sherpao on Friday, the PPP-S said anti-state elements had targeted the president for his bold stand on the war against terrorism, adding the cowardly terrorist act was in fact an attack on the entire Pakistani nation.

The participants hailed Mr Musharraf’s resolve to continue cooperation with the international community against terrorism.

The meeting termed the two bomb blasts targeting the President within a week a conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan and to sabotage the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit that would bring peace and harmony in the South Asian region.

The participants said the whole nation was behind President Musharraf on the issue of terrorism.

The PPP-S demanded the government compensate the families of those killed and injured in the blast and prayed for those killed. MPA Arshad Khan, Alamzeb Umerzai, Nasreen Khattak, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) former ministers Ghani Dad Khan and Iqbal Hussein Khattak and party leaders Alamgir Khalil, Malik Zarawar Khan, Malik Iftikhar Khan and Shamsher Ali attended the meeting.

MULTAN: The second assassination attempt on the president which claimed 14 lives is the outcome of a security lapse and internal subversion because Rawalpindi is a heavily militarised city and headquarters of the Pakistan Army,” said various opposition leaders on Friday.

“It is the fact now that the countdown to the end for General Pervez Musharraf has begun, neither his American friends nor his Pakistani allies can stop his departure,” said Barrister Taj Muhammad Langah.

“Recent large scale reshuffling of senior officers suggests that Gen Musharraf is highly scared of his colleagues in the armed forces and he wants to bring his allies close to him,” said Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

“Agreement between the government and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) is his last attempt to save himself and gain political and public support,” said Yousaf Raza Gilani of the PPP. Others speaking on the occasion were PPP Chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Liaquat Baloch of the MMA and former senator Rafiq Rajwana of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

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