Nagpur: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is in stable condition after being shot in the legs at a political rally this evening in what the country’s president described as a “heinous assassination attempt.” One supporter was killed in the attack, and nine others were injured, including Imran Khan. Since Friday, the former international cricketer has led a convoy of thousands from Lahore to Islamabad, seeking new elections after being ousted from office in April by a no-confidence vote. Shots were fired at Imran Khan, 70, and other officials who were standing atop a container truck as it slowly drove through a dense crowd of supporters in Wazirabad, Pakistan’s Punjab province.
What happened at the rally?
“There was this guy in front of the container with this automatic pistol.” He let loose a burst. “Everyone in the front row was hit,” Fawad Chaudhry, a former information minister in Imran Khan’s cabinet who was riding behind Khan on the truck, told news agency AFP. As evidenced by the ground-level video, supporters in the crowd attempted to seize the attacker’s gun. According to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) officials, Imran Khan is being treated at a hospital in Lahore. Imran Khan was seen being transferred from the container to a bulletproof car before being driven to Lahore while wearing a cloth tied around his right calf.
Another video from the scene, tweeted by the PTI, shows an Imran Khan supporter overpowering and pinning the attacker to the ground. Following his arrest, the accused stated, “I wanted to kill Imran Khan because he has been deceiving the people of Pakistan.” Both the country’s prime minister and president condemned the attack. “A heinous assassination attempt on Imran Khan. I thank Allah that he is safe but injured, with a few bullets in his leg that are hopefully not life-threatening. This is a shocking, alarming, disgraceful, deceptive, and cowardly attack. “May Allah grant him and all those injured health,” Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi tweeted. “I strongly condemn the incident of firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan.” I have directed the Interior Minister to provide a report on the incident as soon as possible “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, “I pray for the recovery and health of PTI Chairman Shehbaz Sharif and their injured people.”
