Pakistani Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi was injured in an attack outside his office in Islamabad on Wednesday, witnesses said.
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Men carry Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi into the back of a vehicle moments after he was shot in the leg in Islamabad September 2, 2009. Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded the minister in an attack in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday that killed his driver, police said. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo] |
A driver of the minister was killed in the attack at Melody Market area of the capital, they said. The wounded minister was shifted to nearby Poly Clinic hospital.
Witnesses said that two motorcyclists opened fire on the minister's official car as he sat in the vehicle.
The attackers fled after the firing, witnesses said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The office of the minister is located a few yards away from a main police station. People gathered at the attack site said that police from the nearby Aabpara police station could not reach in time and people shifted the minister to the hospital.
According to hospital sources, the minister received bullets injuries in legs and he was being operated upon in the emergency. Doctors said the minister is out of danger, but a gunman was critically injured.
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A Pakistani police officer examines a car of Pakistan Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi after he was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009.[Xinhua/AFP Photo] |
Witnesses said that the car hit a roadside tree after it was attacked. They said the minister was not accompanied by any guard when attacked.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani have condemned the attack and ordered immediate investigation.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has warned religious leaders of the Taliban threat on Tuesday.
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Policemen survey the site of a shooting which left Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi injured in Islamabad September 2, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo] |
(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2009)
