A senior member of Pakistan's ruling PML-N party, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, was shot by a gunman as he left a meeting in Punjab province on Sunday. Iqbal is recovering in hospital from a bullet wound and is in stable condition, according to Minister of State for Interior Affairs Talal Chaudhry. Leaders from opposition parties have condemned the attack, although a prominent official from Imran Khan's PTI party suggested that ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's large rallies protesting his removal may have contributed to the attack. Naeem ul Haq, chief of staff for former cricket star Khan, strongly condemns Nawaz Sharif's wild accusations against his opponents, stating that they are negatively impacting the political climate and causing tension and anger. He warns that if Sharif continues to spread poison, such incidents will persist. Despite being disqualified as prime minister by Pakistan's Supreme Court last July for unreported income, Sharif's party still holds a majority in parliament. Sharif has accused rival Khan of conspiring against him and has portrayed him as a puppet of the military establishment, which has a history of interference in Pakistani politics. Khan refutes allegations of collusion with the army, while the military denies involvement in politics. The recent attack on Sunday has heightened tensions leading up to the upcoming election in late July. Initial reports indicate that the attacker may have ties to a new Islamist political party that advocates for the death penalty for blasphemy and strict sharia law. Despite this, the Islamists deny any connection to the attacker. "We do not have weapons. We are engaged in a nonviolent struggle. Those plotting against Tehreek-e-Labaik will not achieve their goals," stated party leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi on Sunday, denouncing the attack on Iqbal. Rizvi emphasized that Labaik is striving peacefully to establish the Prophet's religion. According to police, Iqbal was shot in the right arm, and the bullet then entered his groin. The suspected shooter, identified as 21-year-old Abid Hussain, has not had a motive officially reported. Minister of state Chaudhry stated that religious radicalism was a part of the suspect's background, and that other individuals had been arrested while police were investigating groups that may have influenced the attack. He emphasized that radicalism is not an individual issue but a social problem, as individuals are often prepared ideologically by others. Labaik emerged from a protest movement in support of Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated the governor of Punjab in 2011 over his stance on blasphemy laws. The movement's protests, including one that shut down the country's capital for three weeks, were sparked by changes to electoral laws that were deemed blasphemous. The recent assassination attempt on Iqbal has raised concerns about potential violence by Islamist groups ahead of the upcoming elections, recalling the violence that marred previous polls, such as the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.