RAWALPINDI, Sept 17: President Pervez Musharraf’s motorcade came to a halt while going to Islamabad after a herd of buffaloes appeared on the road near the Foreign Office roundabout on Tuesday night, an official source said.

A few moments before the incident, a truck (ADA-4395) coming from Gujranwala carrying buffaloes rammed into another truck (GLT-7777) from behind near Soan Chowk, leaving two persons critically injured.

The accident occurred when the road had been closed for the VVIP movement.

The injured, identified as Tahir Mehmood and Mohammad Tufail, were sitting on the rooftop of the second truck and fell on the road.

The accident caused panic among the police officials on the VVIP route duty. However, the road was cleared a few moments before the president’s convoy passed by.

When DSP Hakim Khan and DSP Chaudhry Ishfaq, who are responsible for the security of VVIP movements in the capital, were contacted, the former expressed reluctance to give the details while the latter said he had no knowledge about the incidents.

In the first incident, the herd of buffaloes, entrance of which is strictly banned in the federal capital, came on the road when President Pervez Musharraf’s motorcade was heading towards the Foreign Office, the source added.

He said as the buffaloes came on the road, the VVIP motorcade came to a halt. However, it started the journey after the animals left the road.

A senior security official accompanying the VVIP motorcade called the CDA and the police officials on the spot and inquired about the security lapse. However, action against the responsible officials is yet to be taken, the source added.

It may be mentioned that there have been a number of fatal accidents due to sudden movements on roads of cattle in the jurisdiction of the Secretariat police.