Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif in Lahore

A day after ink was thrown on Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in Sialkot, a shoe was thrown at PML-N's supreme leader Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Sunday, Dawn NewsTV reported.

Sharif, who had arrived at Jamia Naeemia to address a ceremony marking the death anniversary of Mufti Mohammad Hussain Naeemi, had a shoe thrown at him by a man in the audience as soon as he took the stage. Video footage of the incident showed Sharif visibly shocked in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif after he arrived on the stage to address the crowd.─DawnNewsTV

However, the PML-N leader went ahead with his address, although reportedly shortening his speech, only to thank the organisers and saying words of prayer for the deceased cleric.

The man was immediately caught and thrashed by the audience. The organisers said they are trying to ascertain the identity of the attacker and how he was able to enter the hall. The man has been taken into custody by security agencies at the venue.

The incident comes days after another PML-N leader, Ahsan Iqbal, had a shoe thrown at him, making it the third incident of similar nature against the ruling party's top leadership in recent days.

Condemnations

While speaking to DawnNewsTV, opposition MNA Sheikh Rashid condemned the incident, terming it a complete collapse of intelligence and a result of "overconfidence" shown by the former premier. Rashid said that it could have been something other than a shoe which would have been a disaster. He advised Sharif to ensure he spoke from behind a bullet-proof glass in the future.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan and his party also condemned the incident. In its message on Twitter, PTI said that it was regrettable that PML-N's policies have turned the people against the party to the extent that they [the nation] have resorted to such antics.

PML-N leader Rana Mashhood said that the party was anticipating such an incident because there is a frustration on part of the opposition due to PML-N's rising popularity. He added that the party was trying to keep its workers calm.

Other politicians, journalists and members of the civil society also took to to Twitter to denounce the incident.

Courtesy: Dawn/ANN