Lahore  - On the order of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the shoe- flinging journalist was released hours after the incident on Thursday.
The chief minister security staff arrested the journalist to investigate regarding whether he did it himself or any other power was behind the incident.
After conference, Shahbaz Sharif ordered his immediately release and said the PML-N government believed in freedom of expression.
Earlier Sindh-based private TV channel reporter tossed to Chief Minister Muhammad Shahaz Sharif when he was presiding over the moot.
The shoe was targeted at the CM but it landed in front of the stage yards away from the CM who remained composed and cool throughout the conference without paying much attention to what had happened.
The incident took place soon after the Chief Minister resumed his seat after paying standing homage to the national anthem. The accused journalist, Imdad Sooder, called his act as a ‘reaction to the inaction on the murder attack on Hamid Mir and lack of protection to the media persons’.
His act was not approved of by other media men on the occasion as they found him barking up the wrong tree for the reason murder attack on Mir was not committed in Punjab nor the provincial government had any responsibility in this regard. The median men also raised voice over the attack on Mir but they condemned the shoe hurling incident terming the same ‘quite indecent and immoral.’  The authorities concerned also quietly took notice of the incident and without allowing proceedings of the conference derailed to any side, calmed down the protesting media men while got Sooder beset by the persons in civvies at the same time.
At the conclusion of the conference as the accused journalist was coming out of the hotel premises he was taken into custody and drove to Race Course Police. But he was released immediately at the PS on the instructions of the Chief Minister.