Senior PLM-N leader escapes bid on life in NW Pakistan

Peshawar: Amir Muqam, an advisor to Pakistan`s Prime Minister, today narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in the country`s restive northwest though six security personnel were killed in the roadside bomb attack. Muqam`s motorcade was targeted with an improvised explosive device planted on the roadside in Shangla district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, police officials said.

The IED was triggered by remote control while the convoy was passing by. Muqam, a senior vice president of the PML-N party that is in power at the centre, was visiting Shangla to campaign for polls to local bodies. The former federal minister escaped unhurt but six members of his security details were killed by the blast, officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack though such incidents are usually blamed on the banned Pakistani Taliban. Muqam has been targeted by the Taliban several times in the past. The Prime Minister`s Office condemned the attack.