The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr.Abdul Ruff

History is filled with incidents of air-crashes killing innocent lives on board. Such ill-fated air-crafts continue to be a part of security system meant for top leaders of the world.Helicopter accidents are not uncommon in the rugged Kashmir region, but the crash came at a sensitive time. Military officials later said that Musharraf was in the city, which lies about 60 miles northeast of the capital, Islamabad.Musharraf has been the target of attack and each time his life was in danger and he escaped miraculously.But luck can not be a permanent phenomenon in any body's life.

The country's previous military ruler, Gen. Zia-ul Haq, died in an unexplained explosion on board a Pakistani military aircraft in 1988 along with U.S. Ambassador Arnold L. Raphael and several other top generals. In March 2006, a Red Cross helicopter crashed in Kashmir while delivering food aid to earthquake survivors, injuring its two South African pilots. Six Pakistani soldiers died when an Mi-17 helicopter crashed in bad weather near the Kashmiri town of Bagh a week after the quake.

The recent crash on 08 October, killing four people on board in Mujhoi about 12 miles south of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan's portion of Kashmir the main town in Pakistan's portion of the disputed Himalayan territory on Monday of one of three helicopters escorting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf revives concern about the safety of the U.S.-allied general who has survived several assassination attempts. It happened two days after he secured a provisional victory in a controversial presidential election. Hundreds of residents and scores of soldiers swarmed around the still-smoldering helicopter wreckage, 100 yards from the Jhelum River. Part of the chopper's tail jutted above the crowd. At least four ambulances, sirens wailing, left the scene carrying injured people. The president's spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, was among at least five injured passengers. Two pilots and a technician escaped unhurt, he said.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad blamed a "technical fault" for the crash of the military helicopter and said Musharraf had already reached his destination when the accident occurred. Musharraf traveled to Kashmir on Monday to commemorate the second anniversary of the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake that killed nearly 80,000 people. Witnesses reportedly said the helicopter's engine was on fire before it hit the ground but there was no indication it had come under fire. Minutes before, two other helicopters flew past the village, they said.

The noise of the engine suddenly grew louder and the pilots found level terrain on the outskirts of the village for an emergency landing. He said several passengers jumped from the chopper before it hit the ground and exploded into flames. Locals said that an army helicopter made a crash landing in the Jhelum Valley due to a technical fault while en route to Muzaffarabad.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, swept a presidential election by lawmakers on Saturday that was boycotted by most of the opposition because he contested the vote while still army chief. Musharraf has to wait for a Supreme Court ruling on his eligibility to find out whether he will win a new five-year term.Musharraf has promised to quit the military and restore civilian rule before beginning the new term in which he has vowed to step up the fight against Islamic extremism. His nominated successor, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, was promoted Monday to the post of vice-chief of the army and is to take the top job as soon as Musharraf vacates it. Political future of Musharraf and Pakistan depends on the court verdict expected on Oct 17.

Under the Pakistani constitution, the chairman of the Senate, or upper house of Parliament, takes over if a sitting president dies, but a lot of confusion and anarchy could be created in the country if Musharraf is killed. One should give benefits of doubts to the official statements and accordingly technical failure caused the tragedy. But generally top security measures are taken when transporting VIPs. It could be one of the following reasons too: to raise the image of Musharraf who is yet to get the OK from the judiciary; a foreign conspiracy to kill Musharraf; a general hatred towards him for continuing as President and General. A foul game by some anti-Islamic rogue states by firing the weapons from the space cannot be ruled out either. Islamabad should state if it suspects Indian hand in the terrorist attempt on the president.

Pakistani authorities charged with the top priority task of securing the country's President among others should initiate a series of actions to see the security arrangements are properly scrutinized before the voyages. Especially because President gen. Musharraf 's life is under constant threat, and who knows from which quarters. It ought to be the primary duty of the security personnel to ensure that air-crafts the VIPs (of course, others too) carry are not "ill-fated". Of course, things can go out of hand when unexpected mishap happens.