Islamabad: The Home Minister of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has escaped an assassination bid when unidentified armed men opened fire on his convoy, the second attack on him in over a month.
Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti was on his way to Sui area of the province on Monday when armed men attacked his convoy near Dera Bugti area.
"The minister was unhurt in the attack," a police official said from provincial capital Quetta. The armed men who attacked the convoy fled after the security guards of the minister responded with retaliatory firing.
It was the second attack on Bugti in over a month. He was returning after an official visit to his hometown Dera Bugti on January 22 when an IED roadside bomb was detonated by a remote control.
Baloch separatists demanding more autonomy and control over gas and mineral resources have frequently targeted security forces and pro-government figures for years in the area.
