Pak cleric survives assassination attempt, two guards killed

A prominent Islamic scholar in Pakistan survived an assassination attempt on Friday as unidentified gunmen opened fire on his convoy, killing the cleric's two guards and injuring two others.

Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, who runs a religious seminary and is known for preaching tolerance, and his wife were in one of the two cars targeted by four gunmen on motorcycles near a flyover here.

In the firing, the cleric and his wife escaped unhurt but a police guard and a private guard were killed, police said.

The cleric's driver and a bystander were also injured in the attack, police said.

According to police officials, the religious scholar was the prime target but he remained completely unhurt.

Bullet shells of 9 mm pistol have been collected from the crime scene, police said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the incident and expressed his anguish at the killings of Usmani's guards.

"Scholars such as Mufti Usmani are assets to the country and the Islamic world," he said in a statement released by the PM House. "Provincial government should ensure the security of religions scholars."