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Musharraf may have engineered life bid
EFL: 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 in Islamabad say that he may have engineered the incident to retain Washingtonâs support as key ally in the war against terror and to strengthen his hold on power. 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. All good points. 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. 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. Last time I looked, Musharraf was the only semi-sane leader in Pakistan. We donât want him gone, the Pak fundiâs do. If Perv staged this attack, and my gut says he did, it was to give him a reason to go after his opponents. They arrested some guys this morning, 3 cops included. Weâll have to watch and see who they implicate. Posted by: Steve 2003-12-15 |
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