LAHORE: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Friday that had the motive of security forces been to shoot the gunman in Islamabad, then the operation would have carried out earlier only and that more time was taken in order to ensure that the gunman was captured alive, Dawnnews reported.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore the interior minister said that an unplanned operation was carried out after PPP leader Zamurd Khan approached the gunman in the federal capital city.

The interior minister praised the efforts of Zamurd Khan but in the same breathe said that those officials who were responsible for providing Zamurd access to the gunman would face the axe.

He added that the gunman sustained two injuries whereas his wife suffered a single gunshot wound during the operation.

Nisar further said that the para-military forces and commandos were on stand-by but they were not given orders to shoot so that the wife and children were spared from seeing the suspect writhing in pain.

The accused was an educated man and had a clean record, according to the interior minister who added that the motive behind the attack is under investigation.

He also appealed for the media's cooperation with regards to security issues.