Three guilty of Musharraf bomb plot

By Zaffar Abbas BBC correspondent in Islamabad

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has found three of the five members of an Islamic extremist group guilty of plotting to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.

They were sentenced to a maximum jail term of 10 years.

The other two accused, including an officer of a paramilitary force, have been acquitted for lack of evidence.

Two men have already been sentenced over a fatal bombing

All the accused are members of an outlawed Islamic militant group, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Alami.

Two of those found guilty, Mohammed Hanif Ayub and Mohammed Imran, have already been given death sentences in another case brought in connection with an explosion outside the American consulate in Karachi in which 12 people were killed.

Appeal planned

It was the investigation into the massive bomb explosion at the consulate in July last year that had led to the arrest of these men.

During their interrogation it was revealed that the arrested militants had earlier tried to assassinate Mr Musharraf when he was visiting Karachi in April last year, but the detonator fitted in an explosive-laden car had not worked.

Officials say the same vehicle was later used in the explosion outside the American consulate.

President Musharraf is said to be a key target of Islamists

After a trial that went on for several months inside a maximum security prison in Karachi, the anti-terrorism judge announced there was sufficient evidence to establish that three of the five accused were guilty of plotting to assassinate the president.

The other two were acquitted as, according to the judge, the prosecution had failed to establish their involvement in the conspiracy.

All the five accused had earlier denied their involvement in any plot to kill President Musharraf and their lawyer said they planned to file an appeal.

Since this conspiracy was unearthed last year, President Musharraf's personal security has been increased considerably, as according to the Pakistani security agencies, Islamic extremists regard him as one of their biggest enemies.