<p><br />A former provincial minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was today killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up near his car in the troubled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.</p>.<p>Ikramullah Gandapur, a candidate for the provincial assembly seat from PK-99 constituency, was on his way to an election meeting when the bomber targeted his vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan district.</p>.<p>His driver was also killed in the attack while three bodyguards were badly injured, Dera Ismail Khan DPO Manzoor Afridi said.</p>.<p>Gandapur had sustained critical wounds in the suicide blast this morning and was rushed to a Peshawar hospital by helicopter, however he succumbed to his injuries during treatment after fighting for his life for over four hours.</p>.<p>Gandapur had served as the provincial agricultural minister in the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.</p>.<p>He was elected through a by-election on the Dera Ismail Khan PK-67 seat, after it was vacated following the death of his brother and law minister Israrullah Gandapur in a suicide attack.</p>.<p>Afridi said Gandapur was returning after attending a corner meeting in Kulachi tehsil when the suicide bomber blew himself up close to his vehicle in a narrow muddy street.</p>.<p>Soon after the blast the police and officials of the security forces cordoned off the area and started search operation.</p>.<p>Around the same time that Gandapur came under attack, Jamiat-Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Akram Khan Durrani, a former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, also survived a second assassination attempt in less than 10 days.</p>.<p>Durrani was to address a political convention when his vehicle was ambushed by unknown gunmen in his home district Bannu, bordering North Waziristan district.</p>.<p>The gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on Durrani's vehicle from the front. However, he remained unhurt in the attack.</p>.<p>Durrani is contesting for NA-35 under the Muttahida Majlise-e-Amal (MMA) banner against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.</p>.<p>This is the third attack on election candidates in Bannu district and second on Durrani ahead of the July 25 general election.</p>.<p>On July 13, an attack targeting JUI-F's central general secretary killed four persons and wounded as many as 39. Durrani, however, remained unhurt in the attack.</p>.<p>On the same day, 149 people, including a top nationalist leader, were killed and over 200 others injured in a powerful suicide blast in Mastung area in the troubled Balochistan province.</p>.<p>The security situation in Pakistan has deteriorated ahead of polls. The campaigning for the general election has been hit hard by terrorist attacks claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS outfits.</p>
<p><br />A former provincial minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was today killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up near his car in the troubled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.</p>.<p>Ikramullah Gandapur, a candidate for the provincial assembly seat from PK-99 constituency, was on his way to an election meeting when the bomber targeted his vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan district.</p>.<p>His driver was also killed in the attack while three bodyguards were badly injured, Dera Ismail Khan DPO Manzoor Afridi said.</p>.<p>Gandapur had sustained critical wounds in the suicide blast this morning and was rushed to a Peshawar hospital by helicopter, however he succumbed to his injuries during treatment after fighting for his life for over four hours.</p>.<p>Gandapur had served as the provincial agricultural minister in the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.</p>.<p>He was elected through a by-election on the Dera Ismail Khan PK-67 seat, after it was vacated following the death of his brother and law minister Israrullah Gandapur in a suicide attack.</p>.<p>Afridi said Gandapur was returning after attending a corner meeting in Kulachi tehsil when the suicide bomber blew himself up close to his vehicle in a narrow muddy street.</p>.<p>Soon after the blast the police and officials of the security forces cordoned off the area and started search operation.</p>.<p>Around the same time that Gandapur came under attack, Jamiat-Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Akram Khan Durrani, a former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, also survived a second assassination attempt in less than 10 days.</p>.<p>Durrani was to address a political convention when his vehicle was ambushed by unknown gunmen in his home district Bannu, bordering North Waziristan district.</p>.<p>The gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on Durrani's vehicle from the front. However, he remained unhurt in the attack.</p>.<p>Durrani is contesting for NA-35 under the Muttahida Majlise-e-Amal (MMA) banner against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.</p>.<p>This is the third attack on election candidates in Bannu district and second on Durrani ahead of the July 25 general election.</p>.<p>On July 13, an attack targeting JUI-F's central general secretary killed four persons and wounded as many as 39. Durrani, however, remained unhurt in the attack.</p>.<p>On the same day, 149 people, including a top nationalist leader, were killed and over 200 others injured in a powerful suicide blast in Mastung area in the troubled Balochistan province.</p>.<p>The security situation in Pakistan has deteriorated ahead of polls. The campaigning for the general election has been hit hard by terrorist attacks claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS outfits.</p>