Pakistan: Gunman shoots female politician dead

A lone gunman shot and killed a female minister in eastern Pakistan today, as she prepared to address a gathering of workers from her political party, officials said.

It is claimed the alleged gunman has a problem with women holding important positions in society.

Zil-e-Huma Usman was minister for social welfare in Punjab province and a senior figure in the Pakistan Muslim League party, which governs Punjab and supports president Pervez Musharraf.

As Ms Usman got out of her car and walked toward the podium in Gujranwala, 120 miles south-east of Islamabad, the attacker pulled out a gun and fired a single shot at close range, hitting her in the head, city police chief Abdul Qadir Qayyum said.

Mr Qayyum identified the attacker as Mohammed Sarwar and said he had been a suspect in the murder of several woman in the past. He said Sarwar confessed to the killing and had told investigators that women should not hold important positions.

The suspect also said that “since fashionable women spread obscenity in society, he has been targeting them as a mission to purge the society of evil,” Mr Qayyum said.