Islamabad: Former president Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said the terrorist attacks in Lahore was a sign of bad luck for the country, but the escape of the terrorists was even more worrying.

"The elite force (police commandos) should have killed the terrorists on the spot," he told the media in Islamabad.

The former president believed the country was in grave difficulty these days, but hoped that it would be able to cope with its problems.

"Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani was doing his job is a very responsible way. We meet these days," he told a questioner.

Musharraf is under the spotlight once again. People close to him don't rule out his comeback, despite the efforts of President Asif Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to keep him at bay. But the retired general has reiterated many times that he is not interested in entering Pakistani politics in the near future.

Musharraf's close contacts with Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) leaders, a party he raised in 2000 remain a matter of concern for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as well as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

Yesterday, he met Shujaat Hussain, the PML-Q chief, to condole the death of the latter's mother. But as soon as the meeting ended the Pakistani media was abuzz with rumours that Musharraf has advised the PML-Q leader to join hands with the PPP to form a coalition government in the Punjab.

On the imposition of Governor rule in the Punjab province, Musharraf said he wanted to keep away from these issues.