Islamabad, Sept. 3: Shots were fired at Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's motorcade today while it was on its way to airport from his Islamabad residence. But officials said he was not in the car at the time.

“Shots have been fired at Premier Gilani’s car but he is safe by the grace of God Almighty,” Gilani’s spokesman Zahid Bashir said in a brief statement, which set off ripples among people, who already are feeling insecure amid a fresh wave of suicide attacks and bomb blasts which has engulfed the country after a lull of four months.

He said of the multiple sniper shots fired on the Prime Minister’s vehicle, two hit the window on the driver side.

“However, because of the robust and comprehensive security measures, the Prime Minister and all the member of his motorcade remained unharmed,” Bashir claimed.

But interior secretary Kamal Shah told the official PTV that the motorcade was on its way to the airport to pick Gilani up.

“What I have been told by senior police officials that the vehicles were empty and they were going to airport to pick up the Prime Minister, who was returning from Lahore,” Shah said.

He said that interior ministry chief Rehman Malik has ordered an inquiry to be conducted by a senior police official, Tariq Khosa. He will submit his initial report within 12 hours.

The state-run Pakistan Television footage showed two bullet marks on the front right window of Gilani’s black armoured Mercedez. Condemning the incident, information minister Sherry Rehman also confirmed that the Prime Minister was not in the car.

“The motorcade was on its way to the airport to pick up the Prime Minister when incident took place,” she said, adding that Gilani was taken to Prime Minister's house from an alternate route.

She said she spoke to Prime Minister Gilani. “He is fine and doing his routine,” she added. Gilani, who was elected Prime Minister in March after his party routed former ruling party Pakistan Muslim league (Q), is senior member of Pakistan People's Party, now headed by Asif Ali Zardari after assassination of his wife and party chairperson Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack in December last year.

Earlier in 2004, former premier Shaukat Aziz had also survived an assassination bid on his life when a suicide bomber blew himself up near him near Islamabad.