KARACHI

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday said that perpetrators of a murder attempt on a prominent Pakistani journalist would be brought to book and no gaps would be left in the investigation.

He was talking to the media at a private hospital where he inquired about the health of Hamid Mir who was ambushed on Saturday while travelling from the airport for his office in Karachi.

“This is a challenge for us as well as the police that perpetrators should be traced and they should be punished appropriately,” he told the reporters.

Prime Minister Sharif further said that he had requested the chief justice of Pakistan to form a three-member commission comprising the judges of the apex court. He said that the commission be formed soon to start its probe.

“Simultaneously the commission will also begin its inquiry and investigations and we want that there should be no effort left to reach the attackers,” he said.

Sources, meanwhile, said that Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, the chief justice of Pakistan, had approved the three names to be part of the judicial commission. The names of Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali, Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman and Justice Ejaz Afzal were recommended to the law ministry for further action.

Mir, who hosts a prime-time current affairs show on the Geo News channel, survived the murder attempt on Saturday. The government immediately announced a reward of 10 million rupees (Dh376,574) for information leading to the arrest of the attackers.

— With inputs from AFP