New Delhi: Even as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf survived a second attempt on his life in ten days, media reports have suggested that the assassination bids could be "stage-managed" while some others have suspected that these could be the handiwork of people in his inner circle or religious extremists and their sympathisers in the Army.

'The Saturday Tribune' quoted "a source assigned to a high strategic position" as saying that the previous attempt on December 14 was "carefully stage-managed by Musharraf's close staff and at his instigation."

'The Washington Times', in a recent editorial, described the circumstances of the assassination bid as "strange and alarming" and said that among the possibilities would be "that someone in Musharraf's inner circle was plotting against him, or at least plotting to warn him quite dramatically."

'The Saturday Tribune', in another article, quoted Shamim Akhtar, a former head of Karachi University's International Relations Department, as saying "he is not only facing threats from extremists but also from their old sympathisers within military establishment who dislike his changed policies".

Akhtar also added that the "reversal of Afghan and Kashmir policy is not possible overnight, as it is seen as a betrayal of the larger Islamic cause."

However, both 'The Saturday Tribune' and 'The Washington Times' were one in their assessment that the December 14 attempt could not have been carried out without the involvement people close to him.