LAHORE – A man who was arrested following the assassination bid on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has made shocking claims during the initial interrogation.
A preliminary report sent by the deputy commissioner of Narowal to Punjab chief secretary revealed the attacker who fired shots at the minister has “showed his affiliation with Tahrik-e-Labbaik,” a religio-political party led by Khadam Hussain Rizvi, who staged the violent protests against the government following amendment to Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Declaration in Election Act, 2017.
The agitation led to the ouster of then law minister Zahid Hamid, while it came to an end after the government and the TLP reached an agreement brokered by the army.
The report further said, “…lqbal finished his corner meeting at village Kanjroor at about 6:00 pm today [Sunday] evening when a man took advantage of the rush gathered around the minister and fired a bullet with 30 bore pistol which passed his right arm and went straight into groin area”.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pakistans-interior-minister-ahsan-iqbal-injured-in-gun-attack/
It added, “The elite force incapacitated that person immediately barring him from further firing and arrested along with the weapon The man identified himself as Abid Hussain go Muhammad Hussain by caste Guitar resident of Village Viram tehsil Sakargarh district Narowal”.
According to local media, the accused in his statement also revealed the reason behind the attack. The assailant said that he attacked the minister as he was angry over the statements given by the minister regarding amendments to the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat declaration.
According to Ahsan Iqbal’s son, his father is now out of danger while the minister will be kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for next 24 hours.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/ahsan-iqbal-in-stable-condition-confirms-ministers-son/
According to hospital authorities, the minister was in a satisfactory condition, while the bullet that entered Iqbal’s abdomen after hitting his arm was not removed as per the surgeons’ decision, local media reported.
Doctors said the bullet was not harmful to him anymore and extracting it from the body at this time could prove risky.
As reported earlier, the minister underwent two operations — one aimed at removing the bullet from Iqbal’s lower torso and the other to mend his broken elbow bone.
A case has been registered against the accused under various sections of anti-terrorism and murder attempt.
