Musharraf's Mosque Mess

Someone attempted to assassinate Pakistani leader Pervez Musharaf, firing on his plane as he took off from a military airport:

Shots were fired after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's plane took off from a military base on Friday in what one official described as a failed assassination attempt.

"It was an unsuccessful effort by miscreants to target the president's plane," a senior security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record. "They fled quickly, and our security agencies are still investigating."

Security forces quickly surrounded a house in Rawalpindi, a garrison city south of the capital. Three other officials told the AP that two anti-aircraft guns and a light machine gun were found on the rooftop.

The senior security official said Musharraf was aboard the plane at the time, although he insisted that the president was not within the range of the attackers' weapons.

Television footage from an overlooking building showed a large gun pointed skyward next to a satellite dish as security officials rushed around. It was unclear if the gun had been fired.

The house lies under the flight path of the main runway used by both the Chaklala Air Base and the adjoining Islamabad International Airport. Passenger jets thundered overhead as police and soldiers swarmed the area.

This comes on the heels of the ongoing siege at the Lal masjid mosque. The fighting continues, sometimes punctuated with explosions.

Geo TV showed images of three helicopter gunships over the besieged complex as large explosions were heard over live television.

Windows of buildings nearby were shattered by the explosions.

There was an intense exchange of fire for about 10 minutes early this morning and mortar shells were fired for the first time in the two-day standoff. The firing stopped at 3:50 a.m. and an announcement was made on loudspeakers asking the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa women's seminary inmates to vacate the buildings.

"Otherwise, force would be used against them," the announcement said.

Immediately after the announcement two more explosions were heard and firing restarted. The security forces also resorted to heavy tear-gas shelling.

Some Islamists resent the fact that Aziz tried to escape dressed up in a burqa.

Many people said on Thursday that they resented Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz’s attempt to escape in a burqa, terming it a disgrace to ulema.

Outraged citizens demanded that the government try the Lal Masjid chief in a court and punish him for the killings of innocent people and for bringing untold miseries to many families. Maulana Abdul Aziz was arrested on Wednesday while attempting to escape security forces around the mosque in a burqa.

“He should have fought till the end and died to prove what he did was right,” said Gohar Ali, a young banker, during a survey conducted by Daily Times.

UPDATE:
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UPDATE:
On further consideration of the assassination attempt, consider that this was an attack on his plane taking off from a military base, which suggests that the plotters had the timing and movements of Musharraf down pat. Have they infiltrated his inner circle? It is possible, and Musharraf has enemies not just from the visible folks like Taliban and Al Qaeda, but those within his own government and military who may not like the direction Musharraf is taking the country.

Weasel Zippers has more on Musharraf's proposed amnesty for certain individuals who were holed up in the mosque. As I've noted over the past couple of days, any amnesty is going to be seen as a sign of weakness to be exploited by the jihadis. Indeed, the fact that Aziz attempted to get through the security cordon dressed like a woman tells you all you need to know about the intentions of those holed up in the mosque. They have no interest in surrendering, and their motives are anything but pure. They are intent upon imposing their religious views on everyone else, and will do so by force if necessary.

Bill Roggio has much more on what appears to be Musharraf's capitulation to the Lal masjid followers.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who survived an assassination attempt earlier today, is prepared to pardon the Islamists and the leaders of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, according to Pakistan's Daily Times. President Musharraf "approved a plan to extend a general amnesty to about 100 militants still holed up inside Lal Masjid, provided they lay down their weapons and surrender to the security forces," sources privy to a meeting in Rawalpindi told the Daily Times. "The sources said that the government had decided to withdraw all criminal cases filed since February against the 100 or so militants, including Lal Masjid deputy cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, provided they surrender." There is no word if Abdul Aziz, Ghazi's brother who was captured attempting to escape the mosque in a burka, will also be pardoned.

I have a real bad feeling about this.

UPDATE:
Thanos notes that the situation has gotten more fluid, and it appears that some of the militants inside the mosque tried to escape and were shot and killed by security forces. Their bodies remain in the streets where they fell. Heavy fighting is apparently ongoing.