From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Thursday replaced the prosecution team engaged in the gun attack on former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Wazirabad during long march.
As per the details, Deputy District Public Prosecutor Zahid Sarfaraz was removed from the prosecution team, and Deputy District Public Prosecutor General Tariq Inayat was added in place of Zahid Sarfraz.
Tariq Inayat will also assist the JIT in investigating the Imran Khan attack case. while the other members of the team include Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafiz Asghar Ali and Rana Sultan Salahuddin.
It is pertinent to mention here that on November 3, Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, other party leaders including Senator Faisal Javed were wounded and one killed after gunshots fired at the long march container.
According to the details,the firing incident happened during the long march reception camp at AllahwalaChowk in Wazirabad. District police officer Ghazanfar Ali said one person was killed and ten others were wounded in the attack. A bullet hit his shin, the PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said.
“Imran Khan and (party colleague) Faisal Javed received bullet wounds. A bullet hit IK’s shin. Both have been taken to hospital for treatment,” Chaudhry told Reuters. Fawad further said that three people were injured in the attack, including Senator Faisal Javed and Ahmad Chattha.
Imran Khan with later seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot, according to reports and a blurry image. He was moved to another vehicle from his container truck, from where announcements were being made that he was safe.
The alleged attacker who sprayed bullet with his automatic weapon at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s container said that his only target was the former prime minister. In his initial statement, the alleged attacker said that he suddenly decided to assassinate Imran Khan because he was misleading people.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) plea seeking to stop the possible shelling at the party workers rally in Rawalpindi.
The LHC while dismissing a petition filed by PTI, sought reply from the federal government and other parties in the case.
According to the report of the petitioner’s lawyer, the federal government has provided 50,000 tear gas shells to the concerned force for the November 26 protest, which will pose a serious threat to human lives and the environment.
The petitioner has prayed to the court that court should bar the concerned forces to use tear shell which consists poisonous gas. However, the court rejected PTI’s plea and ordered the government to submit its reply.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday again requested the PTI leadership to postpone its public gatherings in view of threats to the life of PTI Chief Imran Khan and prevailing security situation in the country.
A letter, addressed to PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, states that the interior ministry has been sharing threat alerts generated by credible intelligence sources to the life of Imran Khan by anti-state elements to destabilise the country. The letter also mentioned recent attack on Imran Khan by an armed assailant at Wazirabad.
The letter said that the federal government has already provided a bullet proof vehicle and deployed police and civil armed forces during his stay in the Islamabad Capital Territory. However, presently, Imran Khan is stationed in Lahore and participants of the long march have travelled to Rawat, which is very close to Rawalpindi.
It is expected that the Punjab Government would be taking all measures for security arrangements not only for the PTI Chief but also for participants of the march as anti-state elements like Al-Qaeda, Daesh, TTP and radicalized youth of TLP can take advantage of soft targets like public gatherings to destabilize the country through suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices.
The Interior Ministry has formally conveyed the concerned quarters the threat to the life of Imran Khan and general public.
