Islamabad: In an incident that heighten political tension ahead of the general election expected in July, Pakistan’s interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, 59, was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt. He was hit by a bullet in his right shoulder in the attack during a Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) election rally in Narowal district, his constituency in central Punjab province.
The suspect, who police said was named Abid Hussain, shot at Iqbal at close range with a 30-bore pistol, as he was leaving the rally. “The only bullet fired by the accused hit Iqbal’s right shoulder. The attacker was arrested and a 30-bore pistol was recovered from him. He fired at the minister from a distance of 10-20 yards,” said district police officer Imran Kishwar, adding that Hussain, who is in his early 20s, is suspected to be a member of a militant outfit.
Iqbal was admitted to a hospital in Narowal and later shifted to a hospital in Lahore. Tallal Chaudhary, state interior minister, said the attacker has been shifted to an unknown location, where he is being interrogated. Malik Ahmed Khan, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said that the attacker was about to fire a second shot, when police and people overpowered him. The attack comes a few weeks after a member of a religious organisation hurled a shoe at Iqbal when he was addressing a workers’ convention in the district.
The attack on the minister drew strong political reactions, with Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif describing the incident as an “assassination attempt” and seeking report from the inspector general at the earliest. PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and called for an immediate report into the incident from top police officials of Punjab province.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack. “We have to put a stop to such incidents,” he said. The attack follows a series of blows to the ruling PML-N, which has been struggling to find its footing since its leader Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court over graft allegations last summer. Iqbal, who was touted as a potential prime minister when Sharif was ousted last July, is a US-educated lawmaker from a political family long associated with the PML-N. Considered the brains behind the party’s development agenda, he previously headed up the planning ministry.
