Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who is in the hit-list of Islamic militants, had a providential escape during a recent trip to Karachi when a powerful car bomb failed to explode due to failure of remote control device used by the militants.

The plot to kill Musharraf came to light when two of the three militants arrested in Karachi on July 8 in connection with the last month's bomb attack near US consulate in Karachi, revealed their aborted attempt, a high-level Pakistani police official told the state television.

He said that the two militants, Muhammad Hanif and Muhammad Imran, said that they packed a "high roof" Suzuki vehicle with powerful explosives and stationed on the way to airport when Musharraf visited the city on April 28 to campaign for his referendum.

They planned to explode the bomb-laden vehicle when Musharraf's convoy took him to the Karachi airport after his public meeting at the city. However, the car failed to explode due to some problems in the remote control device.

The car, however, remained in the same place till next morning after which the militants drove it to a garage and kept there.

The same vehicle was used in the bombing of the US Consulate in Karachi last month in which 11 persons were killed and over 40 others injured.

Musharraf extensively toured Pakistan for the success of his April 30 referendum to get himself elected for a five-year period.

PTI