GUJRANWALA, March 29: The Jamaat-i-Islami district president and aspirant for National Assembly seat NA-98, Qudratullah Butt, was shot at and injured along with two party workers by armed assailants in Qila Deedar Singh on Friday.

The injured were rushed to the local DHQ Hospital in a critical condition. Hundreds of party activists gathered and demonstrated outside the hospital against the police and demanded arrest of the culprits.

Caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi also took notice of the incident and sought a report from the police. Reportedly, after offering Friday prayers Butt was on his way with his workers to a market in connection with an election campaign when unidentified assailants opened fire on them and escaped.

District Coordination Officer Najam Ahmad Shah along with Assistant Commissioner Syed Salahuddin, City Police Officer Abdul Razaq Cheema and other senior officers reached the hospital where JI workers were demonstrating and assured them that the culprits would be traced and arrested soon.

Razzaq Cheema told the media that he had formed raiding teams comprising SSP (Operations) Kamran Yousaf Malik, SP Liaquat Malik and four SHOs of various police stations and directed them to arrest the culprits.

Butt and two workers Siddique Butt and Muhammad Akram were stated to be stable now. Butt received two bullets, one in the waist and the other in leg, while his workers were shot at in the legs.