Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot during a rally in Wazirabad, Punjab province, and was transported to a hospital following what his party dubbed an “assassination attempt” during his march against the army establishment-backed central government.
He was spotted waiving as he was placed into an SUV, his right leg wrapped, indicating that the damage was not serious. While Imran Khan, 70, was being brought to Lahore, 100 kilometers away, one of his party employees was believed to be dead.
It reminded me of how another former PM, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated during a rally in 2007. The attacker, who was eventually apprehended, fired at the former cricketer from below when he was standing atop a container truck to protest the Shehbaz Sharif government.
At least four of his party’s leaders were among those injured, including MP Faisal Javed Khan, who subsequently declared a follower had been “martyred.”
The event in Gujranwala district, roughly 200 kilometers from Islamabad, occurred just seven months after he was deposed after losing the confidence of the defense establishment. Since then, he has campaigned against the army and the intelligence agency ISI’s “intervention,” which he claims has “undermined democracy.”
Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister, denounced the firing and asked Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to get an immediate report from the police and administration.
Imran Khan had urged supporters in another section of town, where he was supposed to give an address, that they should accompany him to a different place instead, pledging to speak there, Geo reported. His supporters posted a video of him boarding the container truck from his black SUV on Twitter.
Minutes later, as he approached the container’s roof to deliver his address, he was shot. According to reports, the gunman fired a pistol from the left side of where Imran Khan was standing since he couldn’t get close enough for a clear shot in the dense crowd.
After the gunshots boomed, chaos broke out outside his welcome camp at Allahwala Chowk, said local channel Geo News. At least four party leaders were among those hurt, according to the report.
After purportedly losing the confidence of the army establishment in April, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader has demanded the resignation of the new central government created by his two biggest opponents, the Sharifs’ Muslim League (PML-N) and the Bhuttos’ Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Khan has since held demonstrations across the country, calling for early elections. Khan started his long march from Lahore on October 28 and is anticipated to arrive in Islamabad on November 11.
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