Imran Khan assassination attempt was a “facade,” according to the suspect’s attorney

Naveed Bashir’s counsel says Imran, guard behind Moazzam Gondal’s killing. Imran Khan’s accused attacker’s attorney in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Naveed Bashir, asserted on Thursday that Imran Khan’s purported assassination attempt was a “self-scripted play” and a “fiction.” While leading the PTI’s “Haqeeqi Azadi March” in Wazirabad on November 3, the former prime minister was shot in the leg as a result of an armed attack on his container.

The attack left one person dead and injured numerous people close to the PTI chairman, including Senator Faisal Javaid, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Ahmad Chattha, and Imran Yousaf. Following the incident, the PTI chairman broke his silence and said that three people—Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a senior military officer—were responsible for the failed murder attempt on him.

The attack’s forensic report, which surfaced on Tuesday, showed that the ex-PM had been struck by three bullet fragments and a metal fragment. According to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency’s report, Imran Khan’s body included one sealed bundle that contained four plastic containers, two deformed bullets (items B8 and B11), one small metallic fragment (item B9), and one bullet jacket (item B10).

According to the report, shots were fired from the left side of the truck in Wazirabad when the march was heading towards Islamabad. Moreover, the post-mortem report of Moazzam Gondal — the PTI worker who was shot dead in the Azadi March— was also made public.

According to the report, a bullet hit Gondal in the back of the head, crossing through his forehead. The report further revealed that the shot was fired from a height, killing the PTI worker on the spot. Yesterday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry had claimed that the joint investigation team (JIT) constituted to probe into the incident had found that by reducing the number of police personnel in Gujarat, an opportunity was provided for the attack and subsequently, an assassination attempt was made at Imran Khan.

“The revelations made in the JIT report will be made public soon,” Fawad had said while speaking to the media. “A well-thought-out narrative was chalked out to give the assassination attempt the cover of a religiously-motivated crime,” he had added. Mian Dawood, the accused Naveed Bashir’s attorney, refuted the PTI’s assertions in a media interview at the Lahore Press Club today, asserting that the attack was instead “a game” planned by the party.

In addition, he bemoaned and called it “unjust” “pinning Moazzam’s death on Naveed.”He said, “Fawad Chaudhry has pronounced Naveed innocent whereas according to the forensic agency’s report, Naveed did not kill Moazzam Gondal. Had the JIT examined the incident in the correct direction, the full matter would have come to light.”

The attorney criticised the formation of the JIT, saying that “the Chief Minister [of Punjab] had appointed Ghulam Mehmood Dogar as the head of the probe in accordance with Imran Khan’s demands.”Additionally, he claimed that “attempts were made to erase the police official’s testimonies” and that the JIT “was not making evidence a part of the record” and that “the footage of Moazzam Gondal being shot is not part of the record”.

He asserted that “the JIT’s job is to protect Imran and his guard; if they did a serious investigation, Imran’s guard would be revealed to be the murderer.” The attorney sought that Imran and his guard be prosecuted with killing Gondal and insisted that Ejaz Chaudhry be included in the probe.