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Man with loaded gun arrested at Sharief's rally

Police arrested a man with a loaded pistol at a rally today, moments before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief was about to make a speech.

They refused to say whether it was an assassination attempt, but Maqbool Ansari, an activist of the right-wing religious group Jamiat Ulema Islami, had the gun hidden in his shirt.

When Sharief arrived at the Muslim shrine at Dada Darbar in his hometown, Lahore, to officially open a housing complex, Ansari was spotted by police, according to Superintendent of Police Saud Aziz.

It appeared he was taking the gun from beneath his shirt, said Aziz. Police pounced on him and threw him into a nearby police vehicle.

"We are questioning him... We're not saying it was an assassination attempt, but it appeared he was taking his gun out," said Aziz.

Sharief was told about the arrest before he made his speech, but chose to go ahead.

In January, Sharief was the target of an assassination attempt outside Lahore. A bomb blew up a bridge he and his family were to cross. He was delayed and the bomb exploded before he crossed, killing several people, including a police officer assisting with his security.

AP

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