A three-day-old infant died on Friday evening, allegedly after inhaling teargas fired by police to disperse political activists near Committee Chowk earlier in the day.
While talking to a private news channel, the father said he held “Imran Khan, Sheikh Rasheed and the government responsible for his child’s death”.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, however, held Punjab government responsible for the infant’s death and said that he died due to teargas shelling by police.
Shocked & saddened by death of 3-day old child due to shelling by govt in Committee Chowk. Punjab govt solely responsible for this tragedy.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 28, 2016
The Benazir Bhutto Hospital’s medical superintendent, however, denied these claims saying, “The infant was brought to the hospital at around 6pm and teargas shelling was not the reason of his death.”
“The infant was having difficulty in breathing since morning,” he added.
Meanwhile, a district administrative official said the family lives near Garden College, which is not near to the areas where teargas was used.
The parents, however, claimed that they were delayed due to the teargas shelling while on their way to the hospital.
The political atmosphere in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi turned tense with the PTI calling for countrywide protests on Friday after police stormed a youth convention of the party and arrested activists in the federal capital late on Thursday.
