Pak minister Ahsan Iqbal discharged from Lahore Hospital

Pakistan Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was on Monday discharged from the Services Hospital, a week after surviving an assassination bid at a rally in Narowal.

During his stay at the hospital, Iqbal underwent two operations. One was aimed at removing the bullet from his lower torso and the other to mend his broken elbow bone, Geo TV reported.

In a video message, Iqbal thanked the hospital authorities for providing him with the best medical treatment.

"I chose a government hospital, and the way I was treated, it restored my faith in the public health sector," he said.

Calling for achieving peace and harmony in the country, Iqbal added, "The bullet in my body will keep on reminding me that we need to make Pakistan a centre of peace and harmony. We need to struggle to remove the menace of hate from the country."

On May 6, Iqbal was shot in the arm by an assassin after addressing a rally in Narowal's Kanjrur Tehsil in Punjab Province with a 30-bore pistol from a distance of 20 yards. He sustained a bullet wound in his right shoulder.

The suspected shooter was later identified as a member affiliated with Tehreek-e-Labaik, an Islamist political party and taken into custody. He was identified as a 20 to 22-year-old local, residing in Kanjrur Tehsil.