(Image: Reports suggest a sniper was on a hilltop near the Islamabad highway and shot at the car [Reuters])
(September 03, Rawalpindi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Yousuf Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, has escaped an apparent assassination attempt after shots were fired at his motorcade in Rawalpindi, officials said.
Kamal Shah, Pakistan's interior secretary, said Gilani and his staff were not in the car when the shots were fired at the bullet-proof car.
Reports have suggested Gilani's son, Moosa, and Qamar Zaman Kaira, the federal minister for Kashmir and Northern affairs, were in the motorcade going to Islamabad's international airport to pick up the prime minister.
Gilani's spokesman Zahid Bashir said two bullets hit the reinforced glass window.
"By the grace of Allah the prime minister is safe," he said.
Rehman Malik, an adviser to the prime minister said investigations into the incident had begun and a preliminary report would be presented within 24 hours.
Tariq Khosa, a senior law enforcement official, is to lead the government investigation team.
Nobody has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The prime minister remains a potentially high-profile target even though he is protected by a massive security cover.
Security questions
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's Federal Information Minister, denies the incident occurred owing to lapse in security, but Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the scene said "there was no doubt this was a lapse in security".
"The question is how the sniper was able to conceal himself and how he was able to make his escape.
"Reports suggest the sniper perched himself on a hilltop on the Islamabad highway from where he would have had a considerable vantage point on the convoy."
Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said the prime minister was returning from a meeting in Lahore yesterday and was due to travel to his residence after arriving at Islamabad's airport.
"This was a highly-skilled sniping attempt, given the vehicles were moving at high speed," he said.
Gilani's Pakistan People's Party leader, Asif Ali Zardari, is standing for president in elections scheduled for September 6.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
Kamal Shah, Pakistan's interior secretary, said Gilani and his staff were not in the car when the shots were fired at the bullet-proof car.
Reports have suggested Gilani's son, Moosa, and Qamar Zaman Kaira, the federal minister for Kashmir and Northern affairs, were in the motorcade going to Islamabad's international airport to pick up the prime minister.
Gilani's spokesman Zahid Bashir said two bullets hit the reinforced glass window.
"By the grace of Allah the prime minister is safe," he said.Rehman Malik, an adviser to the prime minister said investigations into the incident had begun and a preliminary report would be presented within 24 hours.
Tariq Khosa, a senior law enforcement official, is to lead the government investigation team.
Nobody has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The prime minister remains a potentially high-profile target even though he is protected by a massive security cover.
Security questions
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's Federal Information Minister, denies the incident occurred owing to lapse in security, but Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the scene said "there was no doubt this was a lapse in security".
"The question is how the sniper was able to conceal himself and how he was able to make his escape.
"Reports suggest the sniper perched himself on a hilltop on the Islamabad highway from where he would have had a considerable vantage point on the convoy."
Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said the prime minister was returning from a meeting in Lahore yesterday and was due to travel to his residence after arriving at Islamabad's airport.
"This was a highly-skilled sniping attempt, given the vehicles were moving at high speed," he said.
Gilani's Pakistan People's Party leader, Asif Ali Zardari, is standing for president in elections scheduled for September 6.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
 (September 03, Rawalpindi, Sri...){kind=link}
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