Man arrested brandishing pistol outside Parliament House

Islamabad: Fear gripped the capital when an elderly man appeared in front of Parliament House at Constitution Avenue brandishing a pistol in his hand Monday.

The police, however, have grasped him without any delay after tightening the circle around him and recovered a gun and a dagger from him. The suspect has been shifted to Secretariat Police Station for investigation.

The gunman kept roaming outside the Parliament House for more than 45 minutes, with a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other. The suspect was wielding his gun, pretending that he has put on suicide jacket to blow.

The suspect, later identified as Sohail son Mohammad Aslam, whose face is covered with scarf, can be seen gesturing to police officers standing nearby, with a dagger in his right hand as he walked courageously in the middle of the road outside the Parliament House.

After arresting the suspect, police said initial investigation revealed that he is a 45-year-old man who lives in Rawalpindi's Chakri area.

Sources in Islamabad Police told the media people the preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was not of sound mind.

“The suspect said he had come out to the streets to save the country, as it is in dire straits,” police sources said.

The suspect said Pakistan was about to disintegrate as a result of a conspiracy, the suspect added during the course of investigation.

Police sources revealed that the knife and the pistol seized from the suspect, were both rusty. The pistol didn't even have bullets in it, the police concluded.

Taking notice of the incident, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani instructed IG Islamabad to prepare a report on the matter.