Imran Khan claims PML-N-led govt made 'two plans' to assassinate him

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan claimed Thursday that two plans were made to murder him, as he accused the PML-N-led government of devising the failed assassination plot, Aaj News reported.

The PTI chief received three bullets when shots were fired at his long march container in Wazirabad, Gujranwala, on November 3.

Addressing a press conference via video link today, Imran said: “After the failure of plan A, plan B was made under which Salman Taseer-type murder plot was hatched to put the blame of my murder on religious fanatics”.

PTI chief said PML-N leaders Javed Latif, Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah, and Khawaja Asif accused him of hurting the religious sentiments of the masses through press conferences ahead of the assassination attempt.

The former premier demanded the formation of a powerful committee, under Chief Justice Supreme Court Umar Ata Bandial to probe the Wazirabad assassination bid.

Imran's latest accusations come a day after information minister Fawad Chaudhry said that forensics, site scenes, and the initial investigation report revealed that three attackers were involved in the assassination attempt on Imran Khan in November last year.

“The investigations have revealed that the assassination plot against Imran Khan was well thought-out, but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders deliberately tried to portray it as a case of religious fanaticism,” he said.

“PML-N leaders, including Javed Latif, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Asif, and Maryam Nawaz, and some journalists accused Imran Khan of blasphemy using a tampered video to instigate masses sentiments against him.

“After the attack, a confession statement of the suspect was released before even Imran was shifted to a hospital, to give this attack a religious colour, and then some journalists and PML-N leaders amplified it to show to derail the investigations,” Fawad said.

He claimed that the SHO of the Gujrat police station, where the confessional video was recorded, has admitted to having recorded the video on the orders of DPO Gujrat, using his phone.

"The DPO refused to hand over his mobile phone for forensics, nor he appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) when called for an investigation."

Fawad went on to say that the security in Wazirabad was less than usual at the time of the attack, saying the DPO should have been held responsible for the negligence.