A firing incident near a sensitive building on Mall Road in Rawalpindi has left one suspected individual dead, raising concerns and creating a sense of fear in the area.

According to initial reports, the individual was allegedly moving towards the sensitive building when security personnel deployed at the site attempted to stop him. The suspect reportedly opened fire at a security official, prompting retaliatory fire by the security personnel in what was described as an act of self-defence. The suspect was killed at the scene.

Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar has claimed that the deceased individual was affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Reacting to the incident, Tarar said there was no justification for a PTI worker to open fire on a security official.

The information minister also alleged that PTI does not believe in peaceful protests and referred to the party’s reported call for a long march. He further claimed that the motives behind PTI protests had become apparent to the public.

PTI, however, rejected the information minister’s allegations as false and baseless and called for a transparent, impartial and judicial investigation into the Rawalpindi firing incident.

In a statement, PTI’s central media department said the party does not support any form of violence and maintained that anyone found involved in violating the law should be dealt with according to the law.

The party also urged authorities not to hold any political party or individual responsible before the completion of an independent investigation.

PTI said the incident should not be used for political accusations or political gain, stressing that responsibility should be determined on the basis of evidence rather than political statements.

The party further demanded that CCTV footage, available evidence and the findings of the investigation be made public.

PTI reiterated that the actual individuals responsible for the incident should be identified through a free, transparent and impartial investigation, and that no political party or worker should be unfairly blamed before the investigation is completed.