RAWALPINDI: Those who had attacked singer-turned-evangelist Junaid Jamshed at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Saturday have been identified. The police have sought the verification of their data from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in order to arrest them.

The three men pointed out by Mr Jamshed have been identified as Shah Faisal, Irfan and Akhtar and the police have determined their home addresses, Sub-Inspector Raja Arshad, who is leading the investigations, told Dawn.

“We have the home addresses of the suspects and a police team will be sent to bring them to Rawalpindi to face charges,” the investigating officer said.

Though the police had copies of the suspect’s tickets, they requested PIA for a list of passengers on the plane in order to determine their addresses. The police have asked Nadra to verify the data on the suspects and have obtained CCTV footage from the airport to help them secure their arrests.

The three suspects belong to Karachi and had travelled to Rawalpindi to participate in Mumtaz Qadri’s chehlum, the sub-inspector said.

He added that the attackers had not realised that they were travelling on the same plane as Mr Jamshed and attacked him at the airport.

When Mr Jamshed had exited the arrival lounge, a group of people started shouting at him and accused him of being blasphemous.

Mr Jamshed was hit and pushed by the group and he had to run back into the passenger lounge.

The former singer was then taken into the deputy terminal manager’s office till the police arrived and was escorted home by the police.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2016