Imran's allegations sans evidence are baseless: Sana.

ISLAMABAD -- A day after former prime minister Imran Khan survived an assassination attempt, the federal government on Friday described the attack a case of religious extremism and said that the PTI-led Punjab government was responsible for any security lapse. The coalition government led by PML-N also raised questions on the unnecessary delay in the registration of first information report (FIR) of the armed attack despite the alleged attacker has given a confessional statement. Addressing a press conference here, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the second leaked video statement of the attacker while in the custody of police was very damaging and clearly reflected that the attack was a case of 'religious extremism.' He at the same time clarified that the ruling PML-N considered Chairman PTI Imran Khan as its 'political rival and not an enemy'. He said that details about the under custody attacker would surprise many as he was linked with some religious extremist group. The interior minister underlined that the reasons described by the accused for his action were very alarming. 'After the video went viral, it is possible that such narratives encourage more religious extremists,' he said, adding that the confessional statement should not have been leaked to media. Raising questions over the delay in registration of FIR, the minister said that the provincial government and PTI might be trying to manage some things, which is very concerning. He said following the leak of the first part of the suspect's statement, the entire police station had been suspended and even then another video has emerged. 'The matter needs to be investigated.' He said the allegations levelled by the attacker in the video could enhance the threat for the PTI chief. He requested the PTI leadership to change their behaviours to avoid another such accident. He also asked Khan to review his security and added that the purpose was not to scare PTI to stop its long march. Rana Sanaullah said intelligence reports suggesting threat to life of PTI chairman had been conveyed to PTI but the same were ignored. He further revealed that Khan had been asked to use bulletproof shield for his container but he turned a deaf ear to the advice. He deplored that Khan blamed 'three individuals' for his attempted assassination without any investigation or evidence. 'This is the same language that former prime minister has used since 2014 from his container,' he said. He asserted...