Minister escapes assassination attempt in Pakistan

Suspected Taliban militants Monday opened fire at car of provincial minister in Pakistan’s Northwest but he escaped unhurt in attack, police said.Minister for housing and physical planning in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Amjad Khan Afridi, was travelling in his car when armed militants opened indiscriminate firing on his vehicle in Kohat district, a police official in the region said. Police said that the militants fired volley of shots from hills and one bullet struck the car’s windscreen. The minister escaped unhurt. The police said that the minister was the target. They blamed the Taliban militants for the attack. Afridi is a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). No group claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban group headed by Tariq Afridi is active in the area and the militants routinely launch attacks on the security forces, pro-government political leaders and tribal elders.