ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: A high-ranking officer escaped attempt on his life outside his office on Tuesday when a suicide bomber failed to detonate his explosive jacket and vanished into the nearby wilderness of Shakarparian.

Islamabad police said in a statement that a suicide jacket had been found in the wooded area across the Kashmir Highway but did not refer to the high drama. It, however, issued the sketch of the suspected owner of the jacket, appealing to the citizens to call 920333 or 9204830 to share information about “any suspected element” they might have observed in the area.

Security and police sources would not name the targeted ISI officer but inquiries made by Dawn build up a fairly detailed picture of the assassination attempt that went awry.

According to the sources, the officer's vehicle and its security detail had just passed the CDA headquarters around 8:45am to enter the adjacent ISI headquarters when a man suddenly jumped in front of the motorcade. For a split second, the vehicles in the convoy applied brakes but sped on into the safety of ISI headquarters as the man fiddled with two triggering devices in his hands.

Confused and alarmed, the would-be suicide bomber took to his heels. He ran across the Khyaban-i-Suhrawardy to the parallel Kashmir Highway and then vanished into the heavily-wooded area.

“His (officer's) security was the first priority with his escort,” explained one source.

ISI security personnel started combing the area soon after.

But Islamabad police could go into action only around 10:30am after ISI informed its officers about the incident. Heavy police contingents cordoned off the wooded area to block the possible escape routes of the bomber on the run.

By 11am, police and ISI search teams found a suicide jacket abandoned by the side of a hiking track close to the Pakistan Monument on Shakarparian hilltop.

“It was packed with seven kilogrammes of C4 explosives. Two detonators, connected with a 9 volt battery, were found nearby.

The wire to the battery was found disconnected. That may be the reason that the trigger didn't work - unless the wire came off from the impact that the jacket would have suffered when its wearer threw it off,” said one source.

Bomb disposal squad was called to the spot to defuse the explosives and the material was removed to Aabpara police station.

Later, ISI officials took it away. Meanwhile, the police and ISI found an eyewitness - a CDA driver who had seen the man lurking near the CDA complex. He helped them drawing the sketch of the would-be bomber.

According to the eyewitness, the man was short, with light beard, curly hair and fair complexion. He looked a Pashtun in appearance.

Police sources said the sketch of the suspected suicide bomber “matched 90 per cent with the sketch of a robber in the police record.” The robber was arrested in connection with a robbery in a house in Bharakahu a year ago.

A case was registered at the Aabpara police station against unidentified persons under the anti-terrorism act and explosives act.

Soon after the incident, SSP Mohammad Yousuf Malik directed all SPs and SDPOs to increase patrolling and vigilance in their areas “to ensure foolproof security before Muharram”. Police teams, supervised by SP (City) Mohammad Ilyas, launched search operations immediately and one of them recovered the suicide jacket near Shakarparian.

IGP Bani Amin Khan appreciated the performance of City Zone police and said Islamabad Police were committed to ensuring protection to the lives and property of the citizens.

He said the force had foiled several attempts of mischievous elements in the recent past and that efforts would continue to ensure more safety to the citizens.