Pak admits Musharraf bid plotter escaped

An Islamic militant detained for an assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf a year ago escaped military custody while in a bathroom to wash before early morning prayers, Pakistani security sources said on Tuesday.

Mushtaq Ahmed had been sentenced to death in late November for his role in the plot to kill Musharraf, who is also Chief of Army staff, said one security official. No official announcement has been made on his trial.

Guards at an Air Force detention centre in Rawalpindi where Ahmed was being held have been detained for questioning, said one intelligence source. Clearly embarrassed that a prisoner convicted of such a serious crime had managed to escape, authorities had kept the security lapse secret and were refusing to say when the jailbreak actually occurred.