TEHRAN, May 7 - Pakistan's Interior Minister was recovering in hospital Monday after being shot in a suspected assassination attempt possibly linked to blasphemy, with the attack seen as an ominous sign for security ahead of nationwide elections.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) – Ahsan Iqbal, 59, was shot in the right arm as he prepared to leave a public meeting in his constituency in Punjab province late Sunday.
A man identified by police as Abid Hussain and 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. He is due to appear in an anti-terrorism court Monday.
Police are still investigating, but local deputy commissioner Ali Anan Qamar told AFP that the shooter said he was inspired by a controversy last year in which a small amendment to the oath election candidates must swear had to be hastily reversed after it was linked to blasphemy.
Source: AFP
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