Islamabad: In a startling revelation, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said junior officers of Army and Air Force were involved in attempts on his life in December and the suspects have been captured, but the "mastermind" who planned the attacks was still at large.

Those captured would soon face an open trial in a military court, he said in an interview to private 'Geo' TV channel telecast today (May 27, 2004).

"The mastermind who thought of the idea and planned, he is still at large. We will get him. We know who he is. He is very much a Pakistani," the General said while declining to reveal his identity on the ground that it would be "compromising a lot" with the investigations.

Asked why the mastermind has not been arrested, he said it was because he was "very clever...But we will get him".

In March, Musharraf had said a Libyan member of al-Qaeda was behind the attacks.

Musharraf said the people who were involved in the plot against him were from the ranks of the Army and Air Force.

"People in uniform are from junior level. They are from Air Force and Army. But they are very small in number," he said while ruling out the involvement of any top military brass.

The President said the first attempt on December 14 by blowing up a bridge at Rawalpindi shortly after his motorcade had passed was carried directly by the accused military personnel.

They, however, were not directly involved in the second attempt a few days later in which two suicide bombers driving explosives-laden vehicles attempted to ram into his convoy at different places in the garrison city, he said.

The President was unhurt, but 16 people, mostly policemen, were killed.

The attackers were later identified as Islamic militants. One of them was a member of Jaish-e Muhammad and hailed from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Musharraf said he survived the first attack in which the bridge was blown up by high power explosives because of electronic jamming equipment.

He said some military personnel took part in the attempts against him not because of religious convictions, but for money. "Some are there for not because of religious motivation but because of money."

Asked whether he was concerned of any involvement by senior personnel in attacks against him, Musharraf said he was 200 per cent sure no senior military official was involved.

About the trial, Musharraf said those captured would be tried in a military court.

"We are going to start their trial by the way. Soon it will be a trial by a military court. It will be open, but it will be in a military court and whole nation will see it," he said.

Musharraf's revelation followed unconfirmed reports in Pakistani media that six Pakistani Army personnel were being interrogated by the ISI.

The reports identified the six as Colonel Abdul Khalid (general headquarters), Lt Col Abdul Ghaffar (headquarters, Army aviation command), Maj Muhammad Adil (general headquarters), Maj Muhammad Rohail (2nd Corps), Maj Attaullah (2nd Corps) and Captain Uslman Zafar (Mujahid Battalion).

The six Army officials reportedly had links with al-Qaeda and one of its Pakistani subsidiary Harkatul Mujahideen al-Alami (HMAA), which has been blamed for the recent violent attacks in Karachi, including yesterday's twin car bomb attack.