Nawaz shoe attack: Three suspects sent on 14-day judicial remand

LAHORE: Three persons were booked on Monday and sent into judicial custody over the 'shoe attack' on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. 

During an event at Jamia Naeemia seminary on Sunday, a former seminary student hurled a shoe at Nawaz which hit him on the chest and shoulder.   

The police had detained three people over the incident after the seminary's administration handed them over to the authorities. 

On Monday, police presented the three suspects — Abdul Ghafoor, Mohammad Sajid Hussain and Munawwar Sabir — in court, where they obtained their 14-day judicial remand. 

The FIR registered against them at Qila Gujar Singh Police Station includes charges of assault, criminal intimidation and breaching public order. 

Following the incident, in which Nawaz remained unhurt, the former premier continued with his address to the seminary students and later left the venue. 

Police later identified Munawwar, a former student of the seminary, as the attacker. 

Talking to Geo News after the incident, senior journalist Sohail Warraich, who was at the event, said the attacker was chanting slogans in favour of a religious party which carried out a prolonged protest against the government in Islamabad last year for the ruling party's role in amending the Finality of Prophethood oath of lawmakers. 

Allama Raghib Naeemi, the head of the seminary, had condemned the incident and said Islam teaches respect.

In a press conference the same day, he said that though democracy espouses differences of opinion, expressing differences this way is not appropriate.

"Our relations with the Sharif family cannot be curtailed through these acts," he said, and termed the incident a part of a conspiracy.

Allama Naeemi also called for strict legal punishment against the perpetrators of the attack.