Seminary student hurls shoe

A seminary student hurled a shoe at ousted Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif during an event here on Sunday. Nawaz Sharif was invited as chief guest in ceremony held at Jamia Naeemia seminary situated in Garhi Shahu. As the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief reached the podium to deliver a speech at an event organised by the Jamia Naeemia, a man hurled his shoe at Nawaz, hitting him between the neck and shoulder.
He then jumped on the stage and raised slogans in favour of Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, before fainting as the crowd jostled him. Following the incident, in which Nawaz remained unhurt, the attacker was detained by the seminary's administration and later handed over to the police.
Meanwhile, another man hurled his shoe at the former premier, nearly missing him. It hit a man standing behind the PML-N leader. Personal security staff of the former prime minister and workers of PML-N got hold of the man and began beating him.
A senior police officer told Business Recorder that the attacker identified as Talha Munawwar, who is a former student of the seminary. He has been shifted to Services Hospital owing to injuries from being beaten up by the seminary staff and students after the incident. The medical staff of the service hospital told this scribe that life of the arrested student is out of dangers and soon they will be discharged from the hospital
Moreover, police claimed that they had arrested two other suspicious persons from the seminary.
While addressing the participants of the ceremony, Nawaz recalled the history of the seminary and praised its late leader, Mufti Naeem. He made his speech short due the unpleasant event. Nawaz Sharif, in his address, said that institutes such as Naeemia University are of vital importance for Pakistan.
He added that the party is still working hard to make Pakistan an exemplary country. Pakistan Muslim League will continue its sincere efforts for the welfare of the humanity and development of the country.
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 Prophet hood oath of lawmakers.
Talking to reporters, Allama Raghib Naeemi, the head of the Jamia Naeemia, condemned the incident and said Islam teaches respect of elders and leaders.
In a press conference later, Allama Raghib Naeemi said that though democracy espouses differences of opinion, expressing differences this way is not appropriate. He condemned the incident and added "Our relations with the Sharif family cannot be curtailed through such acts of coward and termed the incident a part of a conspiracy".
He also demanded comprehensive interrogation and complete investigation of incident. He said government should constitute an investigation committee comprised of high ranked officers from police and secret agencies. Allama Naeemi also demanded strict legal against the culprit and punishment against the perpetrators of the attack.
It may be mentioned here that, a man was taken into police custody after he threw ink at Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif during his speech at the ruling PML-N workers convention in Sialkot.
Asif, however, directed the concerned authorities to release the suspect, saying he did not have any personal enmity with him, adding that the man must have carried out the act on behest of someone in return for some money.