Attack on Ahsan Iqbal: Probe reveals startling details

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was wounded on Sunday in an apparent assassination attempt by a gunman linked to a new ultra-religious Muslim party - an incident likely to raise tensions before an election expected in late July.Suspect Abid Hussain, 21, was arrested soon after he fired at the minister when he was attending a corner meeting in his constituency. Police recovered a pistol from his possession which had nine bullets when security personnel arrested him.During interrogation, he confessed to have targeted the interior minister over the issue of amendment in Khattam-e-Nubawwat (Finality of Prophethood) law late last year.The suspect told police that he bought the pistol from a man belonging to his native village for Rs15000. ‘I arranged the money by selling forms of an organization,’ he confessed.According to police, Hussain was armed when he arrived at the crime scene at around 03:00 pm, putting question mark on the security arrangements that how can an armed man was able to reach so close to the Federal Interior Minister. -Affilitaion- An initial report on the shooting by a local administrator, the deputy commissioner of Narowal district, seen by Reuters, said the gunman had been arrested and "showed his affiliation" to Tehreek-e-Labaik.The party calls for the aggressive enforcement of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty.However, neither the report nor other officials commented on the attacker’s possible motives.Iqbal was shot soon after addressing voters in Kanjroor village in Narowal but the exact circumstances were not immediately clear. "I can’t tell you the motive at this stage due to security reasons," Narowal police chief Imran Kishwar told Reuters.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2FQoPYg