LAHORE: The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the attempted assassination of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said the shooting was carried out from four different sites and that three other shooters, other than the suspect arrested, were involved in the attack.
Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was shot in the right leg on November 3 when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets at him and others standing on a container-mounted truck in the Wazirabad region (about 150 km from Lahore), where he was leading the long march to demand instant ballots.
“Shots were fired by three unknown shooters, from unknown weapons from a considerable height other than the gun attack carried out by the suspect, Naveed Meher, arrested at the scene,” reported Tuesday the Dawn newspaper quoting a member of the JIT.
The JIT, led by Lahore Police Chief Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, said Khan was hit by three bullets on the container truck during the protest rally. A total of 13 people were shot and injured in the attack.
The JIT also identified “some mismanagement” in the security arrangements at the PTI rally.
Earlier, Punjab Home Minister Omar Sarfraz Cheema said the shooting attack on Khan was “an organized and well thought out conspiracy”.
Naveed is a “trained assassin” and he was present at the crime scene with his accomplices, the minister said.
He said Naveed also failed a polygraph test. Naveed had told the police that he wanted to kill Khan as music was played during Azan time at his rally.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s special assistant, Attaullah Tarar, moved the High Court to Lahore on Tuesday, challenging the “unlawful detention” of two PML-N workers – Mudassar and Ahsan – in connection with the attack in the gun against Khan.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Tarar said the JIT had illegally detained the two PML-N workers.
Prime suspect Naveed and his cousin Muhammad Waqas are in JIT custody.
Khan, 70, had blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ISI Major General Faisal Naseer for plotting to assassinate him.
The Punjab Police had registered the FIR in relation to the Khan assassination attempt, but did not name the high-level suspects in it.
Khan had dismissed the FIR, saying that without the mention of Sharif, Sanaullah and Faisal it was mere “rubbish”.
Punjab Police said they caught Naveed at the crime scene and confessed to his crime.
Khan had claimed that Naveed was a trained shooter and that another shooter had opened fire on him from another direction.
The JIT has so far recorded statements from police officers and PTI workers who were present near Khan at the time of the attack on him.
Khan is recovering from his injuries and is currently staying at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was shot in the right leg on November 3 when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets at him and others standing on a container-mounted truck in the Wazirabad region (about 150 km from Lahore), where he was leading the long march to demand instant ballots.
“Shots were fired by three unknown shooters, from unknown weapons from a considerable height other than the gun attack carried out by the suspect, Naveed Meher, arrested at the scene,” reported Tuesday the Dawn newspaper quoting a member of the JIT.
The JIT, led by Lahore Police Chief Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, said Khan was hit by three bullets on the container truck during the protest rally. A total of 13 people were shot and injured in the attack.
The JIT also identified “some mismanagement” in the security arrangements at the PTI rally.
Earlier, Punjab Home Minister Omar Sarfraz Cheema said the shooting attack on Khan was “an organized and well thought out conspiracy”.
Naveed is a “trained assassin” and he was present at the crime scene with his accomplices, the minister said.
He said Naveed also failed a polygraph test. Naveed had told the police that he wanted to kill Khan as music was played during Azan time at his rally.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s special assistant, Attaullah Tarar, moved the High Court to Lahore on Tuesday, challenging the “unlawful detention” of two PML-N workers – Mudassar and Ahsan – in connection with the attack in the gun against Khan.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Tarar said the JIT had illegally detained the two PML-N workers.
Prime suspect Naveed and his cousin Muhammad Waqas are in JIT custody.
Khan, 70, had blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ISI Major General Faisal Naseer for plotting to assassinate him.
The Punjab Police had registered the FIR in relation to the Khan assassination attempt, but did not name the high-level suspects in it.
Khan had dismissed the FIR, saying that without the mention of Sharif, Sanaullah and Faisal it was mere “rubbish”.
Punjab Police said they caught Naveed at the crime scene and confessed to his crime.
Khan had claimed that Naveed was a trained shooter and that another shooter had opened fire on him from another direction.
The JIT has so far recorded statements from police officers and PTI workers who were present near Khan at the time of the attack on him.
Khan is recovering from his injuries and is currently staying at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
