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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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
