Bhatti, who was shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car, had been receiving threats to his life since last year, was accompanied only by his driver and an unidentified woman and had no security guards.
Pakistan's minority affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who had sought changes in the controversial blasphemy law, was today assassinated in a gun attack here, the second top leader of the ruling PPP to be killed this year for demanding reform of the harsh statute.
42-year-old Bhatti's car was ambushed near his residence by three to four gunmen in Sector I-8 at about 11.20 am local time in a brazen attack.
Only Bhatti and his driver Gul Sher were in the car and the minister was not accompanied by any security guard at the time of the attack, police said.
Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan's Cabinet, was the second senior leader of the ruling PPP to be assassinated in nearly two months. On January 4, Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was gunned down by a police guard who was angered by his opposition to the blasphemy law.
"There were three to four attackers who intercepted the minister's car a short distance from his home. The attackers targeted only the minister and not the driver," Islamabad police chief Wajid Durrani told reporters.
The driver ducked below the dashboard as the gunmen fired indiscriminately at the minister. At least eight bullets hit Bhatti, Durrani said.
The attackers, who were travelling in a white car, were clad in shalwar-kameez. The gunmen escaped after the brazen attack.
The gunmen threw several pamphlets in Urdu at the site of the attack that linked the attack on Bhatti to his opposition of the controversial blasphemy law.
The pamphlets, issued by 'Tanzim Al Qaida Tehrik Taliban Punjab', said any one who insulted Prophet Mohammed would be given the death sentence.
The pamphlets also said any sort of blasphemy or change in the blasphemy law would not be tolerated.
Bhatti was rushed to Shifa International Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Hospital spokesman Azmatullah Qureshi said Bhatti was hit by several bullets.
Though Bhatti had been provided two escort vehicles with police and paramilitary guards, he had instructed the security detail to wait at his office as he visited his mother, police chief Durrani said.
He acknowledged that there was a threat to Bhatti's life and that was the reason why he had been provided two escort vehicles while other ministers were given only one.
Reports said Bhatti visited his mother, who lives a short distance from his official residence, every morning.
Bhatti was attacked shortly after he drove out of his mother's home.
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