‘PTI worker was killed by the 2nd shooter during attack on Imran’: Omar Cheema

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Home Minister Omar Sarfraz Cheema has revealed that PTI worker Muazzam was shot by the second shooter during the assassination bid on the former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Omar Sarfraz Cheema, in an interview with ARY, revealed that there was more than one shooter who tried to kill the PTI chief during PTI’s long march in Wazirabad.

“The investigation so far has confirmed that the prime suspect – Naveed – was not alone,” he said, alleging that Muazzam – the slain PTI worker – was shot from another gun, but not from Naveed’s one.

The Punjab Home Adviser said, citing a post-mortem report, that Muazzam was not shot at close range. “The main suspect, Naveed, did not have as many rounds as stated to have been fired on the scene.” He said.

The primary suspect, Naveed, is an addict rather than a religious fanatic, according to the previous governor Punjab. He claimed that for the previous four to five months, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been waging a campaign of religious hatred. The attacker’s statement and the PML-N campaign “have similarities”.

 “We as a government tried our best to register the first information minister (FIR)”, Cheema said, adding that they received an apologetic response from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to registrar.

He said that ‘elements’ who were responsible for the release of two films showing the attacker in custody, were coerced. “When the police were questioned in this regard, they claimed they were coerced.” He said.

Omar Sarfraz Cheema also emphasized that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) was not requested by the Punjab Chief minister to not file a police report. He continued, “The federal government is putting up barriers in Punjab’s governance, including this issue.”

Earlier, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said that as per intelligence reports, there are fears of another attack on former Prime Minister Chairman Imran Khan.

The IHC CJ’s remarks came during the hearing of two merged petitions — PTI’s plea seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) for a protest sit-in in Islamabad and traders’ petition for ensuring the citizens’ rights to access the roads during the prolonged political demonstrations.

Justice Farooq had earlier asked the Islamabad police inspector general for a report on the petition and ordered the interior ministry to come up with a plan to ensure peaceful protests in Islamabad.

It was mentioned by the judge during today’s hearing that there was a chance that Imran would be the target of another attack, citing intelligence reports that were presented in court.