NEWS

Pak: 2 rockets near ISI HQ defused

By K J M Varma in Islamabad
October 07, 2006 20:01 IST

After initial claims of conducting a "mock exercise", security officials on Saturday said they defused two live rockets, found along with a launcher and a mobile phone, in the vicinity of the headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency in Islamabad.

The Russian-made 107 mm rockets were similar to the ones found two days ago near Parliament House, and were aimed at the Inter Services Intelligence, officials said.

Army bomb squad defused the rockets found in the sprawling Shekerparian hills overlooking the ISI headquarters.

Earlier, TV channels had quoted Islamabad's Police Chief Choudhary Iftikar as saying that it was a "mock exercise" conducted with "dud" rockets. But Iftikar later told media that the confusion occured due to a misunderstanding between security departments.

The rockets found on Saturday bore similarities to the ones defused on Thursday in a construction site near the Parliament and official residence of President Pervez Musharraf.

On the night before, an explosion rocked a public park near the army residence of Musharraf in Rawalpindi.

Officials remained clueless about the mysterious blast and the defused rockets. Security for Musharraf, one of the most highly-guarded leaders in the world, has been tightened further after the blast and detection of rockets.

The recovery of rockets on Thursday came minutes before Musharraf was to arrive at a nearby convention centre to address an meeting on earthquake reconstruction.

Vehicles with jammers were reportedly used to defuse the rockets to prevent anyone igniting them through mobile phones, which were also recovered.

K J M Varma in Islamabad
Source: PTI
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