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.
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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.
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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. 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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