“The fast-tracked progress to grant bail to the apprehended suspects shows there is someone powerful behind them, providing support,” Absar Alam, former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), said while commenting on the attack at him near his residence in Islamabad last April.
Alam, a senior journalist, noted that four of the six suspects had already been granted bail. A total of eight people were taken into custody following the incident.
He further said that the police were probing the incident efficiently, and the courts shouldn’t be in such a haste, so that the actual culprits could be brought to justice.
The former PEMRA chief said that the probe so far had revealed that Zain, one of the suspects who had been based outside the country, was receiving orders from Pakistan to execute the attack.
He hailed the efforts by the Punjab and Islamabad police in analysing the mobile numbers acquired from the suspects on a scientific basis, saying “I am satisfied by their progress so far.” Alam further remarked: “We are looking towards the court and we await their move to bring this case to a logical conclusion.”
As per the police investigation, Zain, who is based in Germany, and Shah Nawaz Chatta, in France, were the main suspects in the case.
The senior journalist added that both of these suspects had planned the attack and were acting on orders received from Pakistan.
The mastermind, 32-year-old Zain Ghayas, who tasked a hitman to carry out the attack, had also been to Germany and is an absconder in his ancestral district Gujarat.
“I do not know the suspects personally, but I do know that it was a well-planned plot,” he said. “I won’t accuse anyone of being behind it because a probe to trace the individuals or groups responsible is ongoing.”
Shah Nawaz hails from Gujranwala in Pakistan, and is currently based in Paris, France. It is believed that he stayed illegally in Iran in 2020, before moving to Turkey, Bosnia, Slovenia and Jordan. He also stayed in Italy for some time and applied for asylum, which is yet to be decided.
As far as the reasons for the attack are concerned, social media users point to a tweet by Alam two days prior to the incident.
In the post on the micro-blogging website, the senior journalist had alleged that in 2017, when he was heading PEMRA, he was pressurised by then chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to ensure media coverage for the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protests against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
Alam is known as a critic of the former Imran Khan-led government and the country’s security establishment. He is quite active on social media and was summoned in the past by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over his tweets which made allegations about the intervention of state institutions in the country’s politics.
Alam, a senior journalist, noted that four of the six suspects had already been granted bail. A total of eight people were taken into custody following the incident.
He further said that the police were probing the incident efficiently, and the courts shouldn’t be in such a haste, so that the actual culprits could be brought to justice.
The former PEMRA chief said that the probe so far had revealed that Zain, one of the suspects who had been based outside the country, was receiving orders from Pakistan to execute the attack.
He hailed the efforts by the Punjab and Islamabad police in analysing the mobile numbers acquired from the suspects on a scientific basis, saying “I am satisfied by their progress so far.” Alam further remarked: “We are looking towards the court and we await their move to bring this case to a logical conclusion.”
As per the police investigation, Zain, who is based in Germany, and Shah Nawaz Chatta, in France, were the main suspects in the case.
The senior journalist added that both of these suspects had planned the attack and were acting on orders received from Pakistan.
The mastermind, 32-year-old Zain Ghayas, who tasked a hitman to carry out the attack, had also been to Germany and is an absconder in his ancestral district Gujarat.
“I do not know the suspects personally, but I do know that it was a well-planned plot,” he said. “I won’t accuse anyone of being behind it because a probe to trace the individuals or groups responsible is ongoing.”
Shah Nawaz hails from Gujranwala in Pakistan, and is currently based in Paris, France. It is believed that he stayed illegally in Iran in 2020, before moving to Turkey, Bosnia, Slovenia and Jordan. He also stayed in Italy for some time and applied for asylum, which is yet to be decided.
As far as the reasons for the attack are concerned, social media users point to a tweet by Alam two days prior to the incident.
In the post on the micro-blogging website, the senior journalist had alleged that in 2017, when he was heading PEMRA, he was pressurised by then chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to ensure media coverage for the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protests against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
Alam is known as a critic of the former Imran Khan-led government and the country’s security establishment. He is quite active on social media and was summoned in the past by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over his tweets which made allegations about the intervention of state institutions in the country’s politics.