DARRA ADAM KHEL: Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz on Sunday escaped an attack unharmed as he was on his way from his ancestral town of Kohat to Peshawar city.
Unidentified assailants attacked his car, shattering the windows.
Faraz told the media that he is safe but his driver has been injured and is being transported to Peshawar for medical attention.
Varying accounts of the nature of the attack have surfaced.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry tweeted moments after the news broke, saying that Faraz had been attacked by gunmen at Darra Adam Khel.
“Thankfully, he remained safe but unfortunately the driver is seriously injured and has been transported to the hospital.
“We strongly condemn this incident,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General Kohat Tahir Ayub, while speaking to Geo News, said that it wasn’t a firing incident and that the minister’s vehicle was pelted with stones.
“Shibli Faraz was returning to Peshawar after casting his vote in his constituency,” the DIG said.
DIG Ayub said that due to the pelting of stones, one police personnel was injured and has since been ruled to be out of danger. The front windscreen of Faraz’s vehicle was damaged, he added.
The police official explained that a police squad had been accompanying Faraz. He said that the minister has been transported safely to Peshawar.
The counting of votes in local government elections across 17 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is underway after the close of polling time at 5pm, on a day that saw several incidents of violence break out.
Tensions ran high in different parts of the province, with at least four people killed and eight others injured in a series of attacks including a suicide bombing and a shooting. There were also reports of rockets being fired.
Polling in the 17 districts today, including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshehra, Mardan, and Peshawar, marked the first phase of the local body polls, with the next phase to take place at a later date.