From army chief to dictator to President to outcast - with such a tumultuous path, Pervez Musharraf attracted many enemies, and that too from surprising quarters.
Musharraf was the target of multiple assassination attempts during his tenure as President. What is interesting is that many of the assassination conspiracies were hatched by soldiers of the Pakistani armed forces, and members of terrorist groups given patronage by the Pakistani military.
In April 2002, a remote-controlled car bomb had been placed on Musharraf's route. The detonator failed and an attack on the President was averted.
On 14 December 2003, a bomb exploded near Musharraf's farmhouse in Islamabad. The blast occurred 20-25 minutes after Musharraf's car passed the exact spot. The bomb had been placed in a drainage pipe next to the footpath, and caused a big crater when it went off.
Just 11 days later, Musharraf was targeted by two suicide bombers. Trucks laden with bombs were driven into the President's convoy. Over 15 people died, over 40 were injured, but Musharraf survived.
Four years later, on 6 July 2007, shots were fired at Musharraf's plane during take-off. The aircraft was taking off from a military airfield in Rawalpindi. The plane eventually safely arrived in Turbat town.
In October 2003, a court convicted 3 terrorists for the 2002 assassination plot. In September 2006, Pakistan’s Supreme Court upheld death sentences handed down to 12 men, including soldiers and civilians, convicted of taking part in two assassination plots.
In 2009, a military court in Pakistan convicted two soldiers for being involved in a murder conspiracy against Musharraf. In 2004, the President had reportedly blamed low-ranking Army and Air Force officers for allying with an Al Qaeda operative to take his life.