Blasphemy link to attack on Pakistani minister

CONCERN OVER SHOOTING AHEAD OF POLLS

A MAN accused of shooting Pakistan’s interior minister in a suspected assassination attempt, possibly linked to blasphemy, appeared in court on Monday (7).

Abid Hussain appeared before the anti-terror court in Gujranwala city in Punjab province, where he was remanded into custody for 10 days, police official Chaudhry Tariq said.

His appearance came one day after Ahsan Iqbal, 59, was shot in the right arm as he prepared to leave a public meeting in his constituency in Narowal, Punjab, late last Sunday (6). After the shooting, Iqbal was airlifted to Lahore for treatment.

A man identified by police as Hussain, said to be in his early 20s, was wrestled to the ground by offic­ers and bystanders as he was preparing to fire a second shot.

Police are investigating whether the attack could have had a religious motive. They described Hussain as a supporter of the new Islamist party Tehreek-e- Labaik, but the party has disowned the man.

A senior Punjab police official, who was present during the interrogation of the suspected shooter, said his statements provided “solid evidence” that he was a supporter of the Labaik party, but not of any contact with party leaders.

“A moment before the attack, he shouted Labaik, labaik ya Rasool! (I am here, I am here, oh Prophet of God!), a trademark slogan of Labaik party,” the police official said.

But the official added: “At the same time, he talks like a mentally challenged person.”

Labaik was born out of a protest movement sup­porting Mumtaz Qadri, a bodyguard of the governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer. Qadri gunned down his boss in 2011 over his call to relax Pakistan’s draco­nian blasphemy laws.

A local official said the shooter was inspired by a controversy last year in which an amendment to the oath election candidates must swear had to be re­versed after it was linked to blasphemy, a highly in­flammatory charge in the country.

The row sparked a three-week sit-in last Novem­ber by a previously little-known Islamist group.

That demonstration ended when the government capitulated to the protesters’ demands – including the ousting of the federal law minister – in a deal brokered by the military.

At the time, many Pakistanis and analysts warned that a dangerous precedent had been set in which fringe groups could bend the state to their will by citing blasphemy.

Iqbal, known as a champion for religious minori­ties, had pushed for a negotiated settlement to the controversy. As part of their investigation, police are examining any potential links between Hussain and the Islamist group leading the sit-in.

Shafqat Waseem Chaudhry, one of the five-mem­ber medical team responsible for him, said on Mon­day that he was “stable” but will remain in the inten­sive care unit for two days.

The attack was swiftly condemned by the inter­national community as Pakistanis voiced fears it represented an attempt to weaken democracy ahead of the general elections.

The polls, set to be only the second ever demo­cratic transition in the country, are widely expected to be held late this summer.

The shooting is the latest in a series of blows to hit the PML-N since prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the supreme court over graft allegations last summer. Iqbal was touted as a potential prime minister when Sharif was removed last July.

A US-educated lawmaker from a political family long associated with the PML-N, he is considered the brains behind the party’s development agenda and previously headed up the planning ministry.

Despite the setbacks, the PML-N has won a string of recent by-elections, proving it will likely remain a force in the vote. (AFP, Reuters)