Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was on Tuesday afternoon discharged from the Services Hospital, where he was received treatment for bullet injuries suffered in an assassination attempt at a public rally earlier in the month.
Iqbal underwent two operations, one aimed at removing the bullet from his lower torso and the other to mend his broken elbow bone. He had sustained a fracture after the bullet scraped his elbow and then hit his lower abdomen.
He was injured during an assassination attempt at a corner meeting in his constituency Narowal on May 6. The prime suspect in the case, Hussain, and his accomplice, Azeem, remain under custody of the law enforcement agencies, while a joint investigation team has been probing the incident.
In a video message released on Monday, Iqbal thanked the hospital staff for providing him with good medical care.
“I chose a government hospital, and the way I was treated, it has restored my faith in the public health sector,” he said.
Iqbal said the bullet in his body would keep reminding him of the need to make Pakistan a centre of peace and harmony. We need to struggle to remove the menace of hate from the country, he added.
Published in Daily Times, May 15th 2018.