ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Tasneem Haider Shah, a man claiming to be a spokesperson of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has alleged that the conspiracies to attack former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif were hatched in London, according to sources.
Earlier, video clips from Shah’s press conference started doing rounds on social media, which were also shared by the several Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders.
In the clips, Shah claimed that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was part of the plot to murder slain journalist Arshad Sharif and the attempted assassination on former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
According to The Siasat Daily, Shah told reporters he had at least three meetings with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in the office of his son Hassan Nawaz, alleging that he was called to kill the journalist and the former premier.
According to Shah, the first meeting was held on July 8, the second on September 20 and the third on October 29, where he was told Arshad Sharif and Khan should be removed before the appointment of the new army chief.
However, Shah added that he refused.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday clarified that Tasneem Haider Shah had no link or anything to do with the ruling party, rejecting startling allegations made by him.
Responding to the allegations, Aurangzeb categorically said that Shah was not the PML-N London branch’s spokesperson and had no relation with the party.
“No one should try to become [the] party spokesperson by force,” she said, adding that if Shah had any evidence regarding Arshad Sharif’s murder then he should present it before the forum of the joint investigation team.
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KEEP READING:
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- Ex-PM Khan Takes on Twitter to Quash Rumors after Disappearance from Long March
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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan believed the current political leaders – including Prime Minister Sharif, the interior minister and a military general – were behind the attack, some of his allies told media immediately after the shooting.
One spokesman, Raoof Hasan, told the BBC’s Newshour programme the government was “attempting to eliminate [Imran Khan] physically”.
But in a press conference on Friday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah rejected the allegations, saying that the Punjab government was to blame for any security lapses in the state. “We see Imran Khan as a political opponent, not an enemy,” he added.
A video circulating on social media shows confession of the man who apparently said had attempted to kill Khan.
Although the motive behind the attempted assassination is unclear, in response to police asking the suspect why he had opened fire, he said: “He was misguiding the people. I wanted to kill him. I tried to kill him.”
But the video has been dismissed by the PTI chairman’s allies as a “cover-up”.
