Pak minister slain

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ISLAMABAD, Mar 2 (AFP): Gunmen shot dead a Catholic Pakistani government minister on Wednesday, after he had vowed to defy death threats following the murder of another politician opposed to an Islamic blasphemy law. In broad daylight, unknown assailants sprayed bullets on the car of minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti after he came out of a home in a residential area of Islamabad, police said. "Three or four armed men riding in a white Suzuki car intercepted his official vehicle," city police chief Wajid Durrani told reporters. "The attackers were clad in shawls and fired bursts on him, and he died," Durrani said. The minister's driver was wounded. The police chief insisted that Bhatti had been provided with proper security, but said the minister was not accompanied by his security detail when the attack happened.