Pakistan PM survives assassination attempt

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday escaped an assassination attempt after unknown gunmen opened fire on his convoy just outside Islamabad, officials said.

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"The Prime Minister has safely reached his office in Islamabad," Information Minister Sherry Rehman said.

Gilani's motorcade was returning from the airport in the neighbouring garrison town of Rawalpindi when a volley hit his armoured Mercedes limousine and some other escort vehicles, a security official said.

Television footage showed at least two bullet marks on the reinforced glass of the front side window.

The Prime Minister was returning to his house in Islamabad from Lahore when he was attacked at Karal Chowk in Rawalpindi, some 30 km from Islamabad, said Xinhua.

BBC said Gilani was travelling in a bullet-proof car after landing on an internal flight at Islamabad airport when the incident took place.

"I can confirm the prime minister's convoy was fired upon while returning from Chaklala airport," the report quoted Gilani's press secretary Zahid Bashir as saying.

"The Prime Minister was coming back from Lahore. The firing took place on the Islamabad highway. At this point, we believe the firing was from a small hill on the roadside," he said.

DPA