A Pakistani military court sentenced four air force staff to death and two to life in jail for involvement in an al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf in 2003. Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, narrowly escaped the attempt to kill him on December 14, 2003, when a bomb blew up a bridge in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital Islamabad, minutes after his motorcade passed it. The six low-ranking men were tried in a military court over the past six months, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) statement said.

?Four have been awarded the death sentence whereas two have been awarded life imprisonment,? it said. The statement said the trial ended on Monday but did not name the convicts who, it added, could lodge an appeal. A man named Islam Siddiqui was hanged in August after being convicted of taking part in the same assassination attempt, and the PAF statement said a civilian named Mushtaq had already been sentenced to death in the case, though it did not say when.

On December 25, 2003, Musharraf survived a second attempt on his life when attackers rammed a car bomb into his motorcade, killing 15 people. Five Islamist militants, including a soldier, were sentenced to death in August for the second attempt. Pakistan?s military says no senior officers were involved and the principal planners in these attempts were Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, the so-called al Qaeda ?number three? arrested in May, and Amjad Farooqi, a Pakistani militant gunned down last year.

Musharraf was targeted by al Qaeda after he pledged support for the US -led war on terrorism in the wake of September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and for withdrawing support for the Taliban militia harbouring Osama bin Laden?s network in neighbouring Afghanistan. Home-grown militant groups, some with ties to al Qaeda, have carried out a series of attacks over the past four years to vent their anger at Musharraf?s policies.

SUICIDE BOMBINGS

Briton held in Pakistan denies link in London attacks

■ A British Muslim arrested in Pakistan yesterday denied having any involvement in suicide bombings on London?s transport network on July 7 in which more than 50 people were killed. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Zeeshan Siddiqui rejected reports he had met senior al Qaeda figures and one of the London bombers, Shehzad Tanweer. Siddiqui had been arrested as a possible so-called ?missing link? to the four bombers who killed 52 commuters on three London underground trains and a bus, the Telegraph reported. Police have not charged anyone so far in connection with the July 7 attacks.?I totally condemn these acts of violence,? Siddiqui wrote. ?I have never taken part in any terrorist activity nor do I support or ever intend to support any terrorist activities.? Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, an ally in the US-led war against terrorism, ordered a crackdown on militants after revelations that three of the four London bombers visited Pakistan before the attacks.The Telegraph said Siddiqui, 25, had been charged by Pakistani authorities only with document forgery and offences related to outstaying his entry visa. Magistrates in the northwest city of Peshawar had granted Siddiqui bail on September 15, but he remained in jail after failing to give copies of travel documents he says he has lost, said the newspaper. ?If I was involved in these bombings I wouldn?t be in Pakistan right now but would be taken to London to face charges,? Siddiqui said in the letter. ?If I had any role in the bombings I wouldn?t want to return.?