ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: Armed men robbed Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan and his two young sons as they drove along the outskirts of the capital at dusk on Friday, his spokesman told AFP.

Mr Khan, his sons, aged seven and five, and their maid all escaped unhurt after they handed over cash, credit cards and his mobile phone, the PTI spokesman, Akbar S. Babar, said.

Mr Babar said the ambush appeared well planned as a vehicle pulled in front of Mr Khan's vehicle and forced him to stop on the side of the road about 6pm. When the PTI chief, who was driving, stopped the vehicle, two men brandishing semi-automatic weapons appeared from some bushes and demanded they hand over their valuables. "This shows an overall breakdown of law and order in Pakistan," Mr Babar said.

"Imran Khan feels that VIPs and ordinary people have no protection at all." As well as being a cricketing hero in Pakistan, Imran Khan, 51, is a member of parliament and a fierce critic of President Pervez Musharraf. His nine-year marriage to British socialite Jemima Goldsmith, which ended in June, also kept him regularly in the headlines. -AFP