Punjab police reject KP CM Sohail Afridi’s ‘assassination’ claim

Punjab police on Wednesday rejected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s claim that his security team caught an armed man allegedly sent to kill him in Wazirabad, saying that the detained person was a police constable deployed for his security.

The man was identified as Constable Muqadas Ali, who, according to the Wazirabad police, was performing security duty when he was detained by members of the chief minister’s protection team.

Gujranwala police said that the constable was subjected to severe physical assault by members of the chief minister’s protection team. “Importantly, Constable Muqadas Ali was allegedly assaulted in the presence of the SHO City Wazirabad, who intervened and after considerable effort, managed to rescue the constable. The SHO’s presence can also be clearly seen in footage and images from the scene,” the police said.

Tweet by CPO Gujranwala

The police said that Ali’s identity had already been established at the scene and that he had presented his departmental identity card. They said the subsequent portrayal of the constable as a killer amounted to a “misrepresentation of facts”.

“Following the incident, claims portraying Constable Muqadas Ali as a ‘killer’ emerged from representatives of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," Gujranwala police statement said. “These claims misrepresent the facts, despite his identity having already been established at the scene and his departmental identity card having been presented."

Earlier in the day, CM Afridi claimed in a video statement that an armed man in civilian clothes had been sent to assassinate him and was caught by his security team after they reached Wazirabad.

He said that his stay in Sialkot was disrupted after electricity supply was cut off and that he subsequently travelled to Wazirabad.

Tweet by Sohail Afridi