At least five people have been killed in an attempt to assassinate a provincial minister in Pakistan's troubled northwestern city of Peshawar.
Unknown assailants on Wednesday opened fire on a vehicle carrying Bashir Bilour, senior minister of North West Frontier Province -- which is racked by militant violence.
Bilour escaped narrowly from the attack, however, at least five passersby died in the deadly shooting, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The minister was visiting a populated neighborhood in the city to inaugurate a project.
Bilour, a senior member of the Awami National Party (ANP) leader, had also survived an assassination attempt last November.
He blamed the latest incident on Taliban insurgents, saying that "those who want to see anarchy in the country are behind this attack."
Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP, is the gateway to Pakistan's lawless tribal regions that border Afghanistan. The region has been a stronghold of insurgents since the 2001 US-led invasion in Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the Islamabad government will bring the perpetrators of the terror attack to justice.
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