RAWALPINDI, March 29: Eight armymen escorting President Pervez Musharraf's motorcade were injured, two of them critically, when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned near Convention Centre in Islamabad on Monday.

Security and hospital sources told Dawn that the President was going to attend the inaugural ceremony of the 9th SAF Games at Jinnah Sports Complex, when one of the escort vans overturned near Kashmir Chowk resulting in injuries to Capt Nasir Bashir, Amir, Shakoor, Manzaib, Niaz, Tariq, Miandad and Aziz Ahmed. The injured belonged to 4AK Regiment.

A security source told Dawn that the accident apparently occurred due to speeding. "The security van skidded off the road and overturned," a police official told Dawn. The injured were shifted to the Federal Government Services Hospital.

Meanwhile, a police official, deployed at Gate-5 of the Jinnah Stadium was injured when a car of an army officer hit him, police sources said. According to the sources, Maj Nadeem was trying to force his way through the exit gate when ASI Mohammad Aslam stopped him.

However the army officer accelerated his car and hit the police man. The injured ASI was shifted to the Federal Government Services Hospital where he is stated to be in stable condition.