ISLAMABAD, May 6: Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday dismissed as baseless reports circulated by some foreign news agencies that intelligence agencies had foiled a new attempt by terrorists to assassinate President Gen Pervez Musharraf. The minister said there was no truth whatsoever in the reports.

A senior official of an intelligence agency also denied the reports and said he was unaware of any new plot to assassinate the president. Quoting unnamed intelligence officials, a foreign news agency had filed a report earlier in the day saying that a new plot by Al Qaeda militants to assassinate President Musharraf had been foiled.

The reports said that Mushtaq Ahmed and Mohammad Arshad were found to be involved in the plot. Quoting a “top intelligence official”, one report said: “First we smashed the gang plotting a new attack on Mr Musharraf and then a week later we netted two Arabs, including Al Libbi.”