According to local Urdu TV channel Geo, Pakistani Minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was killed Wednesday morning by Pakistan Taliban for religious reasons.

A policemen check the car of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistani Minister for Minorities Affairs, after an assassination in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, March 2, 2011a. Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated Wednesday morning by Pakistan Taliban members in the country's capital Islamabad. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

The assassination took place at about 11:15 am local time when unknown gunmen in a car fired at the vehicle of Shahbaz Bhatti which was taking him from his home in the capital's southwest to a cabinet meeting.

According to the report, the assassins left a letter at the scene which said they represented the Pakistan Taliban. It said they killed the minister because he was leading a committee against the blasphemy law. Shahbaz Bhatti is the second high-ranking official to be killed by extremists in the country for opposing blasphemy law.

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has issued a statement strongly condemning the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti. He says Prime Minister Gilani has arrived at the hospital where the minister was admitted, to express his condolences. (Source: CNTV)

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet