HAFIZABAD – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) local leader Advocate Qamar Javed was shot dead in Hafizabad, the local police said on Thursday.
Qamar Javed was attacked in the Kot Nakka area of Hafizabad district. Where unidentified assailants opened fire on Qamar Javed, and killed him on the spot.
The police said that Qamar Javed Advocate was targeted while he was on his way to the mosque for Fajr prayer. After attack, the assailants fled the scene.
As per the police, the deceased Qamar Javed Advocate was a PTI provincial candidate in the last elections.
November last year, PTI confirmed that at least 12 individuals died during the Islamabad protest, following earlier claims of a significant death toll.
Speaking at a press conference with Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, PTI’s central spokesperson, Waqas Akram Sheikh, described the government’s actions as unprecedented in Pakistan’s history of protests.
He alleged that reporting journalists about the fatalities during the Islamabad protest were imprisoned, and that many others remain missing with no information about their whereabouts.
He revealed that while the police are providing some figures, PTI has also gathered its own data on the arrests. “Twelve individuals have died during the protest,” Sheikh confirmed. “The actual number is higher, but we are sharing only the confirmed figures with the media.”
He added that the bodies of the deceased were withheld for three days before being returned to their families.
During the press conference, Sheikh also criticised the government for demanding names and proof of the deaths, as hospitals were pressured not to share lists with the media. Sheikh said demanding the right to protest is not a crime, and a right granted by the constitution. “Our workers were prepared for tear gas and rubber bullets, but not for firearms and bullets,” he said.
“What has the state done to its own people?” Sheikh asked, expressing disbelief at the government’s approach. He also questioned the contradictory statements from ministers, who claim no shots were fired, yet fatalities and injuries continue to be reported. “If no shots were fired, then who is responsible for these deaths?” he asked. He further warned that the government’s heavy-handed tactics would only fuel more hatred and division.
Sheikh also defended the protesters, asserting that they were not terrorists but political party workers, following instructions from PTI’s founding chairman to march towards D-Chowk. “These were brave people, not terrorists. We salute their courage,” he said.
