Pakistan politician survives raid

The chief minister of Pakistan's Balochistan province has survived unharmed an attack by gunmen on his motorcade, officials say.

Jam Muhammad Yousif's convoy was attacked 180km south-west of provincial capital, Quetta.

A police officer was reported killed and two more injured.

Mr Yousif was returning on Monday from Khuzdar, where he met military personnel injured in another attack on Sunday in which six people died.

A little-known group called the Baloch Liberation Army said it carried out Sunday's attack.

Investigation

The attack on Mr Yousif came three days after an assassination attempt on prime minister-designate Shaukat Aziz in Attock, northern Punjab.

The assailants who were hiding in the mountains opened fire when the chief minister's convoy passed Abdur Rauf Khan, provincial home secretary

Nine people, including a suicide bomber, were killed but Mr Aziz, the current finance minister, escaped unhurt.

Balochistan's home secretary, Abdur Rauf Khan, said Mr Yousif was safe after Monday's raid.

He said that it was not known who attacked the convoy, but that an investigation was already under way.

Mr Yousif was returning to Quetta from Khuzdar, 300km to the south, where he was briefed on Sunday's attack in which gunmen killed five soldiers and a civilian.

He had also attended a meeting of the local administration to discuss the law and order situation in the area.

Many militancy problems in Balochistan revolve around local issues, with nationalists wanting more control over natural resources, along with greater economic and political rights.