Attack on French embassy thwarted; man, armed with a gun, arrested

ISLAMABAD-A man fired shots at Gate No 1 of Diplomatic Enclave in the capital after snatching official gun from a policeman while attempting to storm inside to attack Embassy of France in what he termed to take revenge from French president for committing blasphemy, informed sources on Thursday.

The man was arrested by the police and shifted to Police Station Secretariat where he was identified as Mussawar Ali son of Irshad Ali, hailing from Sargodha, they said. 

Later, the accused was handed over to Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Islamabad for further legal action against him, according to sources.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Qazi Jamil Ur Rehman has taken notice of the incident and ordered DIG Security Division Waqar Uddin Syed to hold inquiry and submit his report, informed a police spokesman.

According to sources, the cops of Security Division were performing routine security duty at Gate No 1 of Diplomatic Enclave when all of a sudden a man appeared from somewhere and snatched SMG riffle from a cop. They said the man started firing gunshots into air. However, the policemen overwhelmed him and took back the gun, they said. 

Heavy contingent of police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene and cordoned of the area, they said.

DIG Security Division Waqar Uddin Syed also arrived at the scene and reviewed the situation.

“During firing, the man was chanting slogans Taj Dar-e-Khatam-e-Nabowat (SAW) Zindabad,” informed a policeman while talking to The Nation. He fired a total of six bullets with SMG, the cop added.

He said the detained man also revealed before investigators that he opened firing with gun in a bid to sneak into Diplomatic Enclave to launch attack on French Embassy to take revenge from President of France involved in committing blasphemy. 

He said he further told that he was resident of Sargodha from where he reached the capital through public transport. “I am alone and want to take revenge from French president involved in committing blasphemy and no one is with me,” the policeman quoted the accused as saying.

However, police were investigating whether the man had acted alone or had accomplices or sympathisers, said another source.

“CTD Islamabad has taken the man into custody and will initiate legal action against him as per law,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) City Umer Khan during an interaction with this correspondent.

A spokesman to IGP Islamabad told media that Islamabad police held the suspect accused of firing at the gate of SP City office. 

He said accused Musawwar Ali resident of Sargodha came at the gate of SP City office this morning, picked the gun of a policeman and started firing. He was, however, immediately apprehended by police on the spot, he mentioned. 

“The person held by cops on duty is being investigated whether he had any links with any religious outfit or he had any intentions of targeting any other establishment in Islamabad. 

His medical as well as mental health examination would also be carried out,” the spokesman said. 

Article source: https://nation.com.pk/19-Mar-2021/attack-on-french-embassy-thwarted-man-armed-with-a-gun-arrested