Was it stage-managed?

Some reports suspect it could be stage-managed while others say it to be handiwork of his inner circle.

Even as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf survived a second attempt on his life in 10 days, media reports are putting forth various theories to explain them.

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While some reports have suggested that the assassination bids could be "stage-managed", others suspect that these could be the handiwork of people in his inner circle or religious extremists and their sympathisers in the army.

The Saturday Tribune quoted "a source assigned to a high strategic position" as saying that the previous attempt on December 14 was "carefully stage-managed by Musharraf's close staff -- and at his instigation".

The Washington Times, in a recent editorial, described the circumstances of the first assassination bid as "strange and alarming" and said "that someone in Musharraf's inner circle was plotting against him, or at least plotting to warn him quite dramatically".

The Saturday Tribune, in another article, quoted Shamim Akhtar, a former head of Karachi University's International Relations Department, as saying "he is not only facing threats from extremists but also from their old sympathisers within military establishment who dislike his changed policies".

Akhtar also added that the "reversal of Afghan and Kashmir policy is not possible overnight, as it is seen as a betrayal of the larger Islamic cause".

However, both Saturday Tribune and Washington Times were one in their assessment that the December 14 attempt could not have been carried out without the involvement people close to him.