Pakistan journalist Hamid Mir target of car bomb

Prominent Pakistani television journalist Hamid Mir, who has been critical of the Taliban, is lucky to be alive after a bomb was discovered under his car in Islamabad today, Pakistan Today reported.

Mir’s driver raised the alarm after spotting “an unknown black bag” under the celebrity talkshow host’s car, NDTV reported.

The bomb disposal squad was called and defused the explosives, which NDTV said did not detonate due to "faulty wiring."

Reuters reported that the Taliban had threatened Mir and other journalists over their coverage of last month’s shooting of Pakistani teenager Malala Yousufzai, whose fierce activism for girls’ education had made her a target of the Islamic militant group.

More from GlobalPost: Pakistan: Malala Yousufzai, 14-year-old activist, shot in school attack in Swat Valley

Pakistan officials said the bomb would have destroyed the vehicle and almost certainly killed the Geo News anchor, according to the Guardian.

“This was a highly sophisticated device containing around half a kilogram of high explosives," Bani Amin Khan, Islamabad's inspector general of police, was quoted as saying.

"It was in a metal box attached by magnets to the bottom of the car, under the seat where Mr Mir usually sits.”

Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik promised to boost security for Mir, who already has three police guards.