A close aide to the former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf escaped an assassination attempt when gunmen shot at him, killing his three guards, dpa quoted the officials as saying late today. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, who served as information minister under Musharraf, injured himself as he made his escape, but details were not immediately clear. The attack took place when Ahmad was visiting his constituency during an election campaign for a vacant seat for the country's national assembly in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Aslam Tareen, the police chief in Rawalpindi, said three people were killed and three more were injured in the incident. Ahmad has long been on the hit list of Islamist militants like his former boss Musharraf, who has survived at least three bids on his life since he joined international alliance against terrorism in 2001. He resigned from office in August 2008. Musharraf remains in exile in London, apparently under threat to his life in Pakistan. The former minister, Ahmad, lost in 2008 general elections that saw an overwhelming defeat for Musharraf's political allies. Ahmad has since disassociated himself from Musharraf and formed his own political party, Awami League.
