Mohamed Nasheed, Maldives first democratically elected leader and former president, was left wounded in an assassination attempt. As per reports, Nasheed is undergoing surgery after he was hit by a shrapnel from a bomb blast outside his home. 

He is the current parliamentary speaker of Maldives. The Maldives leader was hurt after a device attached to a motorcycle exploded as he got into a car late Thursday, an official confirmed. 

A Maldivian government official told AFP that “Nasheed escaped an assassination attempt.” Though he was injured from the attack, the officials confirmed that his condition is stable. 

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After the attack, armed police officers and security forces cordoned off the area in the capital city Male, where the attack took place. The parliament called for an emergency meeting after the attack. 

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that an investigation is under way after the officials rushed to the site of attack on one of Maldives’ most powerful figures. He also confirmed in a tweet that Nasheed was taken to ADK hospital in Male for treatment of injuries. 

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said in a tweet, “Strongly condemn the attack on Speaker of Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed this evening. Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society.”

A family member told that Nasheed has sustained several wounds. “They have put him under anaesthesia. There is a deeper cut on one of his arms,” the family member told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The relative said Nasheed was responsive and spoke with doctors as he was admitted with shrapnel injuries. One of his bodyguards was also taken to hospital.

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The Indian Ocean nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims is best known around the world for its luxury holiday resorts popular with honeymooners, but it suffers from regular political turmoil.

The government has cracked down on extremism and preaching is highly regulated, but violent attacks have been rare. However, a dozen foreign tourists were wounded by a bomb blast in Male in 2007.

Nasheed rose to become the Maldives’ first democratically elected leader in 2008 in the country’s first multi-party elections after 30 years of autocratic rule.

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He resigned three years later after protests against his rule and has failed to reclaim the presidency despite several attempts. Instead, he secured the position of parliamentary speaker in 2019, retaining his influence in political life.

Nasheed is a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience after being sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015 on terrorism charges slammed as politically motivated by civil rights groups.