Four more years for Imran’s attacker in illegal weapons case

WAZIRABAD:

A Wazirabad court has awarded an additional four-year jail term to Muhammad Naveed, who is already serving two life sentences for the attack on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in an illegal arms possession case.

Judicial Magistrate Fazl Elahi held the convict guilty under the Punjab Arms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015. After examining the evidence in case/FIR No. 742/2022, the magistrate sentenced Naveed to four years of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 40,000.

The court ordered that the sentence be served concurrently with any other sentence the convict is serving.

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According to a warrant issued by the court on February 2, the superintendent of Gujranwala Central Prison was authorized to remand Naveed to serve the four-year sentence.

The sentence relates to an incident that took place on November 3, 2022, when Naveed attempted to assassinate Imran during the PTI’s long march in Wazirabad by opening fire on the gathering. The former prime minister was shot in the shin and injured. Senator Faisal Javed and several others were also injured while a party worker was killed.

Following the attack, Imran accused the then Pakistan Democratic Movement government and some officials of being involved in the incident.

Police arrested Naveed from the spot. The FIR was officially registered at the city police station on November 7 and a joint investigation team was formed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997.

In April 2025, Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Muhammad Naeem Saleem sentenced Naveed to two life terms under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relates to premeditated murder, and Section 7(a) of the ATA, which relates to acts of terrorism.

Two co-accused, Tayyab Jahangir Butt and Waqas, were acquitted after being given the benefit of the doubt.