Sharif, who had arrived at Jamia Naeemia to address a ceremony marking the death anniversary of Mufti Mohammad Hussain Naeemi, had a shoe thrown at him by a man in the audience as soon as he took the stage. Video footage of the incident showed Sharif visibly shocked in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Shoe thrown at Nawaz Sharif after he arrived on the stage to address the crowd.-South Punjab News
However, the PML-N leader went ahead with his address, although reportedly shortening his speech, only to thank the the organisers and saying words of prayer for the deceased cleric.
The man was immediately caught and thrashed by the audience. The organisers said they are trying to ascertain the identity of the attacker and how he was able to enter the hall. The man has been taken into custody by security agencies at the venue.
The incident comes days after another PML-N leader, Ahsan Iqbal, had a shoe thrown at him, making it the third incident of similar nature against the ruling party's top leadership in recent days.
Condemnations
While speaking to South Punjab News, opposition MNA Sheikh Rashid condemned the incident, terming it a complete collapse of intelligence and a result of "overconfidence" shown by the former premier. Rashid said that it could have been something other than a shoe which would have been a disaster. He advised Sharif to ensure he spoke from behind a bullet-proof glass in the future.
Other politicians, journalists and members of the civil society also took to to Twitter to denounce the incident.
