Pakistani minister killed in road accident

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor has been killed in a road traffic accident, the Islamabad Police said in a statement.

The minister, who was driving a car himself here on Saturday, got hit by a pick-up truck when he was crossing a roundabout, the statement read.

The official was shifted to a hospital, but due to severe internal bleeding, he succumbed to his wounds, the statement said, adding that the driver of the vehicle that hit the minister's car has been taken into custody, along with the four other people on board.

Talking to media, Inspector General of Islamabad Police Akbar Nasir Khan said that the minister got a serious head injury which proved fatal for him.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed their condolences and paid tribute to the deceased minister.