Ex PM Imran Khan calls for a thorough investigation into the death of complainant in Wazirabad attack case

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for a thorough investigation into the death of Sub-Inspector Aamir Shahzad Bhadar, the complainant and critical witness in the Wazirabad assassination attempt on the PTI chairman. Bhadar, who was the station house officer of Sadar police station in Wazirabad, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday. The officer was at his house in his native village Bhadar near Kharian town of Gujrat when his condition deteriorated, according to family sources. He was driven to Kharian Combined Military Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Bhadar was the complainant in the case registered against the Nov 2 gun attack on Imran, and had been working at the Sadar police station where he was posted days before the attack occurred. In a series of tweets, Imran called Bhadar’s death sudden and reiterated claims that the Joint Investigation Team’s record was being tampered with. He also mentioned the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of FIA investigator Dr. Rizwan, as well as the deaths of Maqsood Chaprassi and all other witnesses in Shehbaz Sharif’s money laundering case.

Following the attack, Imran had accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a high-ranking officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence for planning the incident and attempted to nominate them in the case. Several PTI leaders, including the chairman, have since reiterated that the attack was part of a well-coordinated plan executed by at least three shooters to eliminate Imran Khan.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed by the Punjab government, reportedly concurred with Imran’s claims that the attack was carried out from three different shooting sites. The team, which has been reconstituted twice, was headed by Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mehmood Dogar. However, in January, the government formed a new team to investigate the attack, a move rejected by the PTI. According to the notification, the team was constituted under Section 19(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.