A day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf survived the second attempt on his life in two weeks, parliament has gathered to debate a deal that would keep him in power until 2007 if he gives up his military post.
Musharraf struck the deal with hardline Islamic opponents on Wednesday to step down as army chief by the end of 2004 to resolve a row over his powers that all but paralysed parliament.
The prospect of such a deal, to be sealed by a vote of confidence in Musharraf expected on January 1, does not appear to have pleased all Islamists.
Musharraf blamed Muslim extremists for Thursday's attack on his motorcade by suicide car bombers in the city of Rawalpindi that killed at least 14 people, including the bombers. The president's car was slightly damaged but he was unhurt.
Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told the Senate on Friday that one of the two suicide bombers had been identified.
"We are aware of the nature of the people involved...we are actively pursuing those people," he said, but added that revealing details would impair investigations.
He said Musharraf had been targeted because of his "pragmatic stance" in the battle against terrorism. "They are fanatics. They are out to destroy the very fabric of our society."
Hayat said the attack was "much more serious" than past attempts on Musharraf's life, which include a bomb attack that missed his motorcade by minutes on the same Rawalpindi road on December 14. He acknowledged that the bombings showed security flaws.
"We have to cover all the shortcomings," he said.
Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said investigators had found the mutilated head of one of the bombers and were trying to prepare a sketch from it.