RIYADH -- An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom's strong condemnation of the armed attack on Pakistan's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal in Narowal in Punjab on Sunday.

The source wished the injured Pakistani minister a quick recovery.

Iqbal was hit by a bullet in his arm in the attack.

The attacker was arrested immediately after the shooting, officials said.

Iqbal, a senior member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and a staunch ally of ousted premier Nawaz Sharif, is one of the most senior figures in government and PML-N.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi “strongly condemned” the attack on Iqbal and called for an immediate report into the incident by the chief of police in the vast Punjab province.

A senior government source said early information suggested Iqbal was returning from a meeting with a Christian group, though in his constituency there are other minority groups.

“We are not sure whether it has got anything to do with the motive. We will know only after investigation of the attacker,” said the government official. -- Agencies