Pakistan's northwest is deeply troubled by violence blamed on the Taliban and al-Qaeda allies. — Photo by AP

PESHAWAR: A provincial cabinet minister from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) escaped unhurt Monday when Taliban militants opened fire on his vehicle in the country's northwest, officials said.

Amjad Khan Afridi, minister for housing and physical planning in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was travelling in his bullet-proof car when militants hiding in the Bilitang area of Kohat district opened fire, police said.

“Militants fired three sniper shots from the nearby hills. One bullet hit the car's windscreen. The minister is safe,” Mubarak Zeb, police chief in Kohat district, told AFP.

“The minister was the target. Militants were involved in this attack,” he added.

An intelligence official in Peshawar, the provincial capital, blamed the attack on the Taliban.

Afridi had a police escort at the time of the attack, the official added.

Pakistan's northwest is deeply troubled by violence blamed on the Taliban and al-Qaeda allies.

Since 2007, more than 4,700 people have been killed across the country in militant attacks.