— Information minister denies Tasneem Haider has no association with ruling party
LAHORE: A self-proclaimed “long-time” spokesperson of the United Kingdom chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) claimed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had, in his presence, discussed a plan to assassinate slain journalist Arshad Sharif and Imran Khan, chairperson of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
Speaking to foreign correspondents of the Pakistan media in London, Tasneem Haider said he has been a spokesperson for the party for the last five years in London.
اب جبکہ ن لیگ کے اپنے عہدے دار نے لندن میں اس بات کا اقرار کرلیا ہے کہ ارشد شریف اور عمران خان کے قتل کا منصوبہ نواز شریف نے لندن میں بنایا اور وہ خود اس میٹنگ کا حصہ تھا، ہم چیف جسٹس آف پاکستان سے اپیل کرتے ہیں کہ اسکا فوری نوٹس لیں اور تحقیقات کریں#بندیال_صاحب_انصاف_کریں pic.twitter.com/SUxizus3Ai
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 20, 2022
He claimed he was part of the meetings with the top PML-N leadership in London wherein he alleged that assassination plots were hatched to eliminate the two before the appointment of the next army chief.
“I held meetings with Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The first meeting took place on July 8 and then on September 20. Another meeting took place on October 29,” he claimed but refused to reveal the names of other persons present in the meeting.
Responding to a question as to why Nawaz sought his help for alleged assassination plots, Shah said: “Nasir Butt introduced me to Nawaz Sharif, saying that he [Tasneem Haider] is an influential person from Gujrat […] have snipers and are capable of executing [the plan].”
He further alleged that Nawaz had asked him to provide shooters to attack Khan in Wazirabad, where the former premier survived an assassination attempt on November 3.
Responding to his claim, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Haider had no relation with the party. “Tasneem Haider is not a spokesman of PML-N London,” she said in a statement.
Aurangzeb called on Haider to produce evidence to back up his claims before the joint investigation team (JIT) “if he had any”.
The minister instead claimed Haider was the organiser of the London chapter of PTI. “Forgery, lies and fake news cannot divert attention from the real murderers [sic] of Arshad Sharif,” she declared.
The minister challenged the ARY News to air such news in London. “It would not dare to broadcast fake news in London as its management had already been penalised for such misadventures in the past,” she said.
In a statement, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Punjab’s interior minister, said the authorities have contacted Haider and included him in the investigation into the assassination attempt on Khan.
Cheema also said the central, provincial and district leadership of PML-N will also be questioned regarding the Wazirabad gun attack following revelations of the self-confessed PML-N leader.
“The scope of the Wazirabad incident investigation has been widened,” he added.
Former prime minister Khan sustained bullet wounds to his leg after an armed attack on his container during the PT ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ in Wazirabad on November 3.
One person died in the incident, while several members of the PTI chairman’s close circle, including Senator Faisal Javaid, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Ahmad Chattha and Imran Yousaf, were injured, according to PTI sources.
The PTI chairman has accused three people – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a senior military officer, of plotting the botched assassination attempt on his life.
Khan had also provided details of the attack on him in Wazirabad, saying that there were two shooters. “I was on the container when a “burst of bullets” was directed at me. I got shot in the leg and fell down,” he had said.
“Then a second burst came, there were two people,” he said, adding if the two bursts were synchronised, he would not have survived.
