Police Deny KP CM’s Claim of Attack Plot in Wazirabad
Police in Gujranwala have rejected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s claim that a man allegedly sent to assassinate him was detained by his security team in Wazirabad.
According to police, the man identified by the KP chief minister as a suspected attacker was actually a police constable assigned to security duty for Afridi.
KP CM Claims Armed Man Was Detained
Afridi said in a video statement early Wednesday that his security team had detained an armed man in Wazirabad who was allegedly planning to kill him.
The chief minister claimed the man was wearing civilian clothes and that his security personnel recovered a pistol before handing him over to the local station house officer (SHO).
Afridi also repeated the allegation in a post on social media, referring to the detained individual as a “bearded man.”
His claims came after he said he faced difficulties during his stay in Sialkot, including electricity outages at locations where he had planned to stay. He subsequently travelled to Wazirabad.
Afridi is currently travelling through Punjab as part of PTI’s preparations for its planned September 27 protest. He had previously spent two days in Lahore before leaving the city.
Police Identify Man as Security Constable
Gujranwala Police and Wazirabad City police separately said the individual was Constable Muqadas Ali, who had been deployed as part of the security arrangements for the KP chief minister.
Police disputed the description of the constable as a suspected assassin and said he was performing his assigned security duties.
In a statement, Gujranwala Police alleged that the constable was subjected to physical assault by members of the chief minister’s protection team.
Police further said the incident took place in the presence of the Wazirabad City SHO, who intervened and helped remove the constable from the situation.
Police Raise Concerns Over Incident
Gujranwala Police said the presentation of the incident as an attempted attack was a serious matter and expressed concern over what it described as a misrepresentation of the facts.
The police account directly contradicts Afridi’s version of events. The chief minister has alleged that an armed individual was sent to target him, while police maintain that the detained man was a constable assigned to his security detail.
The differing accounts have emerged amid heightened political activity surrounding Afridi’s ongoing visits to Punjab and PTI’s preparations for its September 27 protest.
Further investigation or official clarification may be required to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident in Wazirabad.
