Blast near Musharraf's residence

Islamabad: A blast caused by a small explosive device occurred in a park near Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's army residence in the northern city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday but no one was hurt, police said.

Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said the blast was unrelated to "the president or Army House".

Police said it went off two to three km (one to two miles) from Musharraf's home.

"There were no casualties or damage to property," Deputy Inspector General Marwat Ali Shah said from the scene in Rawalpindi, a garrison town next to the capital Islamabad.

He said it was uncertain what kind of explosive had been used, but explosive material had been found at the scene and a bomb disposal squad was investigating.

"It was an explosion and the device was lying on a grassy plot. We also found some explosive material that had not exploded," Shah said.

"The stuff we got was all open," Shah said, meaning that material found was unassembled.

The explosion left a crater in the soil. "It was not a big one," he said. Some residents said they heard three blasts, though most said they heard only one. Security forces sealed off Ayub Park after the blast was heard. Families out walking in the cool evening air were questioned before being allowed to leave the park, but park workers were held back, according to relatives waiting at the gates.

Musharraf, whose cooperation with the United States in its war against terrorism put him at the top of an al Qaeda hit list, survived two assassination attempts in December 2003.

The Pakistani leader returned at the weekend from a three-week overseas trip, during which he launched his memoir "In the Line of Fire" and held talks with President George W Bush.

Musharraf has controversially held onto his role as army chief since coming to power in a bloodless military coup seven years ago, and was snubbed by major democracies round the world until he was propelled to the front of the world stage in 2001 by the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Bush persuaded Musharraf to help a US-led invasion force topple the ruling Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan for harbouring al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.