File photo of Chaudhry Fawad Hussain
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Wednesday claimed that three attackers were involved in the attempted assassination of party chief Imran Khan last year, adding that an ongoing probe had suggested multiple weapons were used.
“An attempt to kill Imran Khan was made,” he claimed during a press conference in Lahore. “Investigations proved three attackers were involved in the attempted assassination attack on Khan,” he said, alleging that gunshots were fired from three different directions. “No shot was fired by Imran Khan’s guards,” he claimed, despite footage of the incident suggesting at least one of the guards did open fire.
Maintaining that the attack was aimed at assassinating Khan and instigating hatred, he reiterated claims of Khan apprising the public of threats to his life in two earlier public rallies. On the injuries sustained by the PTI chief, Fawad claimed Khan had eight wounds. “Fourteen bullets were found on the ground, 12 from one place, and two from another, while nine bullets were found from a building opposite [the attack site] of which seven were at one place and two at another,” he claimed, adding that authorities had only managed to arrest one suspect thus far—accused Naveed—while a search was underway for the other two.
According to Fawad, who did not provide any evidence to substantiate his claims, one of the “missing” shooters had been tasked with killing primary accused Naveed but this plan was foiled when a PTI apprehended him. He claimed that Moazzam, a PTI supporter who was killed in crossfire, was shot by the bullet meant to murder Naveed.
On the matter of Naveed’s confessional statement leaking to media within hours of his arrest, the PTI leader said evidence had shown that the district police officer have asked the station house officer to film the video. “The DPO was asked to join the investigation but he did not join. Who is stopping the DPO from joining the probe?” he questioned, adding that the police had not cooperated during the inquiry into the video leaks. Similarly, he alleged, authorities had reduced the number of police personnel deployed in Gujarat, which had made it easier to target Imran Khan and the PTI rally.
“The revelations made in the JIT report will be made public soon,” Fawad maintained, adding that a “well-thought-out narrative” had been attempted to give the shooting the appearance of a religiously-motivated crime. This, he alleged, was done by leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), and journalists.
Forensic report
A day earlier, a forensic report was leaked to media which stated that Khan had been hit by three bullet fragments and a metal shard during the shooting on Nov. 3, 2022. It claimed that there were no snipers, and bullets did not emerge from three sides. However, officers of the Joint Investigation Team probing the incident have backed Fawad’s claims to local media.