ISLAMABAD: A PML-N leader vying for Attock’s NA-55, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed Siddiqui, survived an assassination attempt late Monday night. The attack comes at a time when there is a week left in the elections.
Police said that unidentified men opened fire on Siddiqui's vehicle as he was returning from a corner meeting. The glass of his car’s windows shattered due to the firing.
Siddiqui has served as a state minister during PML-N’s tenure. According to the police, the PML-N leader was travelling in his car with his son. The two remained unhurt in the attack.
The attack took place in the limits of the City police station. Police have collected bullet rounds from the crime scene and started investigations.
PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also in Attock at the time of the attack. He was barely a few kilometres away from the site.
Series of attacks
A number of political leaders have been targeted in the month leading to the election.
On July 16, former senator and ANP leader Daud Khan Achakzai was injured in an attempt on his life. On July 13, Nawabzada Siraj Raisani was killed along with at least 149 others as a suicide bomber detonated at an election rally in Mastung. A convoy of JUI-F leader Akram Khan Durrani also came under attack on July 13. On July 10, ANP candidate from PK-78 Peshawar, Haroon Bilour, and 21 others were killed in a suicide attack targeting the party’s election meeting. APP