Would-be assassin escapes
The week's news at a glance.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
A man who tried to kill President Pervez Musharraf escaped from custody in northern Pakistan and has been on the run for weeks, security services revealed this week. Mushtaq Ahmed allegedly helped al Qaida bombers who tried to blow up a Rawalpindi bridge as Musharraf’s motorcade crossed it in December 2003. Ahmed was sentenced to death last November, but he escaped just a few days after his trial, when he was allowed to go to the bathroom alone. Officials would not say why they waited so long to report the escape, but Pakistani media speculated that authorities were embarrassed because it might have been an inside job. Ahmed, 26, speaks English, Urdu, and Farsi, and officials said he might already have left the country.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Crossword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff