ISLAMABAD, July 30 (AFP) - Pakistan`s prime minister designate and current finance minister Shaukat Aziz survived a suicide car bomb attack Friday which killed his driver and the attacker, officials said.
A vehicle exploded after hitting Aziz`s car as he was about to get into it, police officer Ishtiaq Ahmed told AFP.
"It appears to be a suicide car bomb attack," he said.
The blast killed Aziz`s driver and the attacker, he said.
The attack occurred in Jaffar, near Fatehjang, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) from the capital where Aziz was addressing an election rally, a senior security official told AFP earlier.
"Two people died in the attack but Shaukat Aziz is unhurt," the official said.
"It was a murder (attempt) on the minister. We are still investigating circumstances under which the attack occurred," he said.
Ruling Pakistan Muslim League party secretary-general Mushahid Hussain also told AFP the suicide attack was directed at Aziz.
"A suicide bomber blew up the car to kill Shaukat Aziz, but he has survived miraculously," Hussain said.
"They are trying to destabilise Pakistan," Hussain said, blaming religious extremists for the attack.
A national television report said two blasts occurred in a car as Aziz was about to get into his own vehicle after addressing a public meeting.