It’s no secret that Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants want Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf dead. Last Sept. 11, bin Laden’s top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, addressed a special message to "our brother Muslims in Pakistan." He called Musharraf "a traitor who sold out the blood of the Muslims of Afghanistan," and urged Pakistanis to overthrow the general as part of their "Islamic duty." Now it seems clear that someone with access to disturbingly detailed intelligence is trying to do just that. Over an 11-day period last month, would-be assassins managed twice to penetrate Musharraf’s tight security cordon and detonate powerful bombs. The first obliterated a bridge seconds after the president had whizzed by. Days later, two suicide bombers died attempting to ram Musharraf’s convoy. Pakistani intelligence forces have already identified one of the bombers: Muhammad Jamil, 23, had ties to Kashmiri militant groups and anti-U.S. forces. But exactly which group he was working for and how he learned the president’s route and schedule is a harder—and more significant—mystery to solve.
| I think we're all pretty well acquainted with Mahmoud the Weasel in his many incarnations by now. In this one he wears a uniform and carries a swagger stick by day, and wears a turban by night. He's a member, though not a functionary, of JI... |
Musharraf has a long list of enemies. The general gained the presidency—and control of the Islamic world’s only nuclear arsenal—in a 1999 coup d’etat, then enraged militant Muslims when he dumped the Taliban and reduced official support for Kashmiri jihadists. More recently, Musharraf’s peace overtures to India have infuriated hard-liners in the military. A regional summit meeting in Islamabad this week, including Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, may anger them more. "We all want to be the one to cut out this cancer that is killing our Islamic struggles in Pakistan," Javed Alizai, a Pakistani from Punjab province and a veteran of jihads in Afghanistan and Kashmir, boasted recently to NEWSWEEK.
| Neither of which, we might add, is actually a part of Pakistan... |
The precise nature of the recent assassination attempts suggests at least some level of cooperation from someone with closely held security information—perhaps a disgruntled member of the military.
| I'd put that likelihood at around 99 percent... |
Jamil himself has been linked with an outlawed militant group called Jaish-e-Mohammed. He was arrested in late 2001 fighting alongside anti-U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and later released—first by the Afghan government, then by Pakistani intelligence. The bombings came just when Musharraf had reached a critical compromise with Islamic foes in the Parliament. With support from Islamists, he won a long-sought vote of confidence and key constitutional amendments after he agreed to resign from the Army by the end of 2004 and serve out the remainder of his term as a civilian. Whoever orchestrated the attacks was apparently unimpressed. Jamil and his partner attempted to blow up Musharraf the very next day.
| Gee. Golly. Gosh. Y'don't think the two might be connected? |
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