ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Tuesday one of its senior leaders, Raoof Hassan, was injured in an attack after he arrived at the office of a private news channel in Islamabad.
Hassan, who has served as the PTI spokesperson, gained political prominence following a crackdown on the party after the May 9 riots, which erupted in the wake of Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges.
The crackdown resulted in the incarceration of top PTI leadership, many of whom continue to remain behind bars. Despite these circumstances, Hassan was vocal, addressing news conferences and passionately advocating for his party’s position.
“Very shameful and reprehensible,” the PTI said in a social media post after the attack. “Central Information Secretary Rauf Hassan attacked by unknown persons outside the office of a private channel.”
The party also shared Hassan’s video in which one can see blood coming out of his face as he walks into a building.
CCTV footage aired by Geo TV captured the incident involving a group of five or six transgender individuals who surrounded and attacked Hassan, slapping him and knocking him to the ground.
The motivation for the attack remains unclear, but PTI’s Shibli Faraz called for a full inquiry into the incident while addressing an ongoing Senate session.
“This is not coincidental,” he said. “These transgender people also attacked a journalist in the past.”
Islamabad police also confirmed that Hassan was attacked by transgender people, with one of them inflicting a gash on his face with a sharp blade.
