A Pakistani soldier has been sentenced to death and another given a 10-year jail sentence for an attempt to kill President Pervez Musharraf last year.
The two men were convicted by a military court in a trial believed to have been held several weeks ago. They were accused of involvement in the first of two bombings aimed at Gen Musharraf in Rawalpindi last December. A military spokesman said both were low-ranking soldiers, but he did not release their names. The attack occurred on 14 December 2003, when a bomb was detonated from a bridge seconds after Gen Musharraf's motorcade had passed. No-one was hurt. In the second attack 11 days later - also in Rawalpindi - two suicide bombers tried to ram explosive-laden vehicles into the president's limousine, killing 17 people. Announcing the verdict, spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said the two men had been tried for their part in the 14 December attack.However, he did not specify what role they had played in the assassination attempt. "One was sentenced to death and the other has been given 10 years' rigorous imprisonment," he said.Security sources say they believe the two attacks were masterminded by Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a Libyan described as the operational chief of al-Qaeda in the region. In August, Pakistan offered a $350,000 reward for information leading to his capture.A month later, another militant allegedly involved in the attempts on President Musharraf's life, Amjad Farooqi, died in a gun battle with security forces.
12-25-2004, 02:49 AM
