Blast near Pakistan president's home, no one killed

ISLAMABAD, Oct 4 (Reuters) An explosion today occurred in a park next to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's army residence in the city of Rawalpindi but no one was killed, police said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known but explosive material was found at the scene and a bomb disposal squad was investigating, the police said in a statement.

''There has been no loss of life,'' said the statement.

Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said the blast was unrelated to ''the president or Army House''.

Security forces sealed off Ayub Park, which backs onto Musharraf's residence, and ambulances were seen entering the area.

Musharraf, whose cooperation with the United States in its war against terrorism put him at the top of an al Qaeda hit list, survived two assassination attempts in December 2003.

He took power in 1999 when the military staged a bloodless coup.

After years of being snubbed by major democracies round the world, Musharraf was propelled to the front of the world stage by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

US President George W Bush persuaded Musharraf to help a US-led invasion force topple the ruling Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan for harbouring al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.

Reuters SBA VP0110