Mick Hartley

From Reuters:

A suspected Islamist zealot shot dead a Pakistani woman provincial government minister on Tuesday because he believed women should not be in politics, officials said.

Zil-e-Huma, social welfare minister of the Punjab government, a women’s activist and supporter of President Pervez Musharraf, was about to give a speech to dozens of people when the lone attacker shot her in the head. She died later in hospital.

The gunman, identified as Mohammad Sarwar, was immediately arrested.

Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat told Reuters the gunman had been implicated in six previous murder cases but had never been convicted because of a lack of evidence.

“He is basically a fanatic,” Basharat said. “He is against the involvement of women in politics and government affairs.”

The shooting occurred at Huma’s party office in the town of Gujranwala, 70 km (43 miles) north of the provincial capital, Lahore.

“He considers it contrary to the teachings of Allah for a woman to become a minister or a ruler. That’s why he committed this action,” the police said in a statement.