Islamabad, December 14
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today escaped an assassination bid when a bomb planted under a bridge in Rawalpindi, near here, exploded soon after his convoy passed.

Private TV Geo reported that General Musharraf passed the bridge minutes before the explosion and said he heard the blast himself. The explosion ripped up a section of the road.

“The President’s cavalcade passed a minute before the blast,” a military spokesman, Major-General Shaukat Sultan, said. “He is safe and sound. There is no loss of life or property.” Pakistan Defence Ministry spokesman said Musharraf was safe.

He said the blast, which took place at 7 pm (7.30 pm IST), partially damaged the bridge but caused no casualties.

Unconfirmed reports also spoke of small arms fire.

He said police, security agencies and bomb disposal squad had rushed to the spot and the blast site was cordoned off.

“It is a terrorist act,” said General Shaukat Sultan “Whether it was an assassination attempt or not can be said only after the investigations.”

The blast at the bridge was so powerful that it could be heard from some distance and several residents in the area reported that windowpanes of their houses broke under the impact of the explosion.

Witnesses said a massive column of smoke followed the blast while some unconfirmed reports spoke of small arms fire after the explosion.

This is the first time that a blast took place so close to the convoy of the Pakistani military ruler who has escaped at least two attempts on him in the past.