Maldives parliamentary Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed, who survived an assassination attempt on May 6 , is off life support and conscious, his family said on Saturday, while police arrested two persons in connection with the explosion.
Maldives police said they are on the lookout for further suspects involved in the blast, that they termed an “act of terror”, outside Mr. Nasheed’s home in Male. The attack, they said, appeared to have links with religious extremists, according to local media.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nasheed’s condition showed improvement , according to family members. “The doctors are very happy with recovery progress. He is out of life support and breathing on his own. Managed to exchange a few words. Promised to come back stronger. I believe him,” his brother Ibrahim Nasheed said in a tweet on Saturday. Mr. Nasheed remained in a critical condition on Friday following complex, “life-saving” surgeries, hospital authorities had earlier said.
The pro-democracy politician, who has consistently condemned religious extremism, sustained multiple injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast, in what police described as a “deliberate act of terror”. Police are probing the incident – no one has claimed the attacks so far – with help from Australian Federal Police, while other countries have also offered assistance.
