LAHORE: Former Senator and chief of his own faction of Ahle Hadith school of thought Prof Sajid Mir claims Maryam Nawaz had been targeted by some sniper during her appearance at the Lahore NAB office last week.

Talking to the media after a meeting with the PML-N vice president at her Jati Umra residence here on Sunday, he said the windscreen of her bullet-proof jeep could not be smashed by a stone and that there were visible signs of at least two bullets fired by some sniper hitting the windscreen.

Answering a question, he said he didn’t know which weapon was used but the snipers were backed by the government because whenever Maryam speaks the government is pained.

Condemning the attack, he said the assault could not be ignored and called for an impartial investigation to expose the culprits behind it.

He lamented that the police didn’t register the attack case though retired Capt Safdar, husband of Ms Nawaz, submitted a written request to the relevant police station.

Prof Mir said he along with a delegation of his party, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith (MJAH), visited Jati Umra to give the message that his outfit is part of the democratic caravan resisting against turning Pakistan into a “fascist” state and that Prime Minister Imran Khan must not consider Maryam as alone as he and his outfit were with her and would remain so.

Replying to a query, he said one of the arteries of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was totally blocked and needed surgery, which is facing delays because of novel coronavirus pandemic.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020