KARACHI: Dr Asim Husain, Pakistan Peoples Party leader and close aide of ex-president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, has claimed that armed men chased him in two cars and showed him a pistol apparently with an intention to kill him while he was on his way to meet his lawyer in Clifton, the Boat Basin police said on Friday.

Dr Asim in his complaint on Thursday said he had seen one of the armed men, who showed a pistol to him in a threatening manner, when he had been detained at the lock-up of the Gulberg police station.

On his complaint, the Boat Basin police registered an FIR (199/2017) against unidentified suspects under Sections 506-B (criminal intimidation if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt etc) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Claims he saw one of the suspects while he was detained at Gulberg police station

As per his statement, he was on his way from his hospital in Clifton on Thursday at around 5pm to meet his lawyer at Teen Talwar in Clifton when a white-coloured double cabin vehicle came at the side of his vehicle near Boat Basin Chowrangi. Some people were seen travelling in the vehicle that he said he could not identify. He added that then another car, which was probably a Toyota Corolla, came from behind in which four gunmen were travelling while one [of them] was carrying a pistol in his hand.

“The man holding pistol made indication towards me in a manner as if he would shoot me,” said the former minister. He said he had seen this armed man when he was locked up at the Gulberg police station.

“I was terrified,” said Dr Asim, adding that he asked his driver to accelerate the vehicle’s speed. In the meantime, he said, his security squad also arrived owing to which the suspects turned towards Punjab Chowrangi. He said the number plates of the vehicles were not readable.

As per contents of the FIR, Dr Asim said he was ‘sure’ that the suspects wanted to assassinate him.

Meanwhile, Karachi South zone DIG Azad Khan told Dawn that an investigation into the matter had been launched. DIG Khan added that the police investigators would try to obtain CCTV footage from the crime scene and seek help of witnesses to ascertain identity of the suspects.

Dr Asim was arrested in 2015 over charges ranging from corruption to terrorism. He was released on bail only recently.

He is considered a close aide of PPP co-chairperson Asif Zardari, whose three ‘friends’ have been ‘missing’ since April 7. One of them went missing in Karachi, another in Islamabad and the third friend in Hyderabad.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2017