Naeem Bukhari denies murder attempt in London

LONDON: Prominent lawyer and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem Bukhari on Sunday refuted a news report claiming that he was pushed onto a railway platform in London by someone in an attempted murder and said he fell onto the platform owing to dizziness.

An English daily reported that London police are treating the incident involving Bukhari as attempted murder and looking for a man who might have followed him to the Marble Arch Underground Station.

Quoting sources, it further reported, the suspect allegedly pushed Bukhari onto the platform. As a result, he suffered injuries for which he is being treated at a London hospital.

Talking to ARY News, the PTI leader denied the report, saying the incident occurred on 1^st May, not on April 27, but the newspaper wrongly linked an April 27 incident to him.

“We came to London on April 28. No one shoved me onto the platform. I suffered injuries because of falling flat on my face on the platform. The incident occurred on 1^st May,” Bukhari said.

He said he fell after feeling dizzy and then fainted, adding the next day when he regained his senses he found himself lying in bed in a hospital in London.

The PTI leader said he was recuperating with the passage of time and hoped to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday. He said he suffered injuries in his head, but an MRI test didn’t show any brain injuries. He said his four ribs also got damaged, which will take some time to improve.

Television footage showed him with bruised forehead and eye.

According to the newspaper report, rumours began to circulate on social media, alleging that Bukhari was in a drunken state and was battered about his head by some people outside a Pall Mall nightclub. However, a police official said no such thing had happened.