Body found at residence of PTI's Aslam Iqbal in Lahore

A gunshot-riddled body was recovered from the residence of former Punjab minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aslam Iqbal in Lahore’s Samanabad area, police said on Monday.

Authorities found the body in the servant quarters of the property, located in New Mozang.

The deceased has not yet been identified, but police estimate the age to be between 30 and 35 years.

Officials said the servant quarters had been rented out a few months ago by a police officer named Arshad, who has now been summoned for questioning.

“The body was decomposed, making identification difficult,” a police source said, adding that forensic teams had collected evidence from the crime scene.

Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the killing and are working to trace the suspects.

Aslam Iqbal began his political career as an independent candidate, winning a Punjab Assembly seat in 2002 before joining PML-Q and serving as Punjab’s Minister for Tourism until 2007.

He later joined PTI and was re-elected in the 2013 and 2018 provincial elections, securing a ministerial role in Punjab’s cabinet under Usman Buzdar. He held portfolios for industries, commerce, investment, and briefly for information and culture.

In 2022, he became senior minister in Parvez Elahi’s administration.

In 2024, PTI nominated him as its candidate for Punjab chief minister.