ISLAMABAD, 5 October 2006 — A blast was heard in a park near President Pervez Musharraf’s army residence in the city of Rawalpindi yesterday, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said. “Nothing is related to the president or Army House,” said military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Police and other security forces cordoned off the Ayub Park, site of the reported blast, and traffic on road hugging the park has been diverted, a senior army official said on condition of anonymity because he lacked the authority to make formal media comments.
The park is located about less than a kilometer from the residence of President Musharraf. Mohammed Azhar, a police control officer in Rawalpindi, said that there were no reports of injuries from the explosion and its cause was unclear. “Whatever that has happened, it was inside the park,” Azhar said.
Appointments
In a minor reshuffle, President Musharraf replaced the Corps Commander of 10th Corps Lt. Gen. Salahuddin Satti with the Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Tariq Majeed.
Salahuddin Satti has now been made chief of the general staff, an Inter-Services Public Relations statement said.
Lt. Gen. Salahuddin Satti, as a commander of 111 Brigade, was responsible for dislodging former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October 1999. Lt. Gen. Tariq Majeed is considered a close confidant of President Musharraf.
