Pakistan Interior Minister escapes assassination bid

Pakistan Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal escapes assassination bid; shot at a corner meeting in Narowal Punjab; sustains bullet injury in right shoulder.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was injured in an assassination attempt when an unidentified man opened fire at him in Punjab province after he addressed a political rally.

The local police said that Iqbal was hit by a bullet on his right shoulder in the attack in his native Narowal’s Kanjrur Tehsil after he addressed a rally.

The incident took place when the US-educated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader was leaving the rally.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and called for an immediate report into the incident from top police officials of Punjab province.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif described the incident as an assassination attempt. Iqbal’s son said that his father was out of danger.

The attacker fired with a 30-bore pistol from a distance of around 18 metres. The attacker was about to fire a second shot when he was apprehended.

However, the reason behind the attack was not immediately known.