Shoes lobbed at Nawaz, ink thrown on minister
As general elections approach and Pakistani politicians return to their constituencies to muster support, the anger of some people on how the government has performed seems to be coming to the fore.
On Sunday, two men lobbed shoes at ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif while he was addressing a gathering in Lahore. On Saturday, a man threw ink at foreign minister Khawaja Asif during a workers convention in Sialkot. The same day, a shoe was hurled at interior minister Ahsan Iqbal in his home constituency of Narowal. So far, all the attacks have been on the ruling PML-N politicians.
Sharif was attacked as he reached the podium to deliver a speech at an event organised by the Jamia Naeemia outside a madrassa. The shoe hurled by a man hit him between the neck and shoulder.
The attacker then jumped on the stage and raised slogans in favour of Mumtaz Qadri – the
ISLAMABAD:
killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer – before fainting as the crowd tackled him down.
Meanwhile, another man hurled his shoe at the former premier, nearly hitting him.
Sharif appeared shaken by the incident which also suggests the challenges his party faces from militant religious parties, some of which were once allies of his government.
The attacks on key members of the ruling party have been going on during the past week. On Saturday, a man was taken into police custody after he threw ink at foreign minister Khawaja Asif during his speech at the PML-N workers convention in Sialkot.
Asif, however, directed the concerned authorities to release the suspect.
The same day, a man lobbed a shoe at Iqbal while he was addressing a workers’ convention in Narowal.