Police officers in Pakistan's Punjab province suspended for leaking confession of Imran's attacker
Former Pakistan PM
Lahore (PTI): Police officers and other officials in Pakistan's Punjab province have been suspended by chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for leaking the suspected attacker's confessional statement after the gun attack on former prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan, 70, sustained a bullet injury on his leg when a gunman opened fire on Thursday on the container-mounted truck carrying him during his protest march, killing one person, but the former Pakistan prime minister was out of danger in what his party claimed was an "assassination attempt."
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has taken notice of leaking the suspected attacker's confessional statement after the gun attack on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan during the long march, ARY News reported on Thursday.
Elahi ordered Inspector General (IG) Punjab police to take disciplinary action against the irresponsible officials. After the leaking of the suspect's confessional statement, the Station House Officer (SHO) and other officials of the concerned police station were suspended, the report added.
The chief minister said in a statement that all mobile phones of the police station's staffers were confiscated and they will be sent for a forensic audit.
Elahi issued directives to hold an inquiry into the incident of the video leak of the suspected attacker. He directed IG Punjab to begin a probe to ascertain the motives of the gun attack.
The directives were issued in an emergency session chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister on Thursday.
The assailant, who opened fire at Khan during the party's long march, has confessed to the crime, saying that the former premier was his only target.
In a video statement available with ARY News, the attacker said he was planning the assassination attempt ever since Imran left Lahore. I tried my best to kill him. I wanted to kill Imran Khan only and no one else, he added.
The incident occurred near Allahwala Chowk of Wazirabad town in Punjab when Khan was leading the long march to Islamabad demanding early elections.
Asad Umar, the senior leader of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told the media that a bullet hit Khan's leg.
Khan underwent surgery at Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore and his condition is stable, his party leader Omar Ayub Khan said.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
