Gunman in bid to assassinate former Pakistan premier Khan
• Ousted leader shot in leg during protest convoy • Saudi Arabia condemns attack
A gunman tried to assassinate former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in an attack on his antigovernment protest convoy on its way to Islamabad.
Khan was shot three times in the leg as he waved to supporters from the roof of a container truck.
“It was a clear assassination attempt. Khan was hit but he’s stable. There was a lot of bleeding,” said Fawad Chaudhry, spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. “If the shooter had not been stopped by people there, the entire PTI leadership would have been wiped out.”
Several of Khan’s aides suffered gunshot wounds in the attack in Wazirabad, about 200 km from the capital.
“I heard a burst of bullet shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck,” one witness said. “Later, a gunman fired a single shot but was grabbed by an activist of Khan’s party.”
Close Khan aide Imran Ismail paid tribute to his leader’s bravery, and that during the chaos that followed the shooting Khan had calmed his supporters and told them “not to panic.” He said Khan was “bleeding excessively,” with a bandage tied to his leg.
TV footage showed Khan being placed in a bulletproof car and rushed to hospital in Lahore.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the shooting “in the strongest words,” prayed for Khan’s recovery, and ordered an immediate report on the incident from security chiefs.
In Saudi Arabia, the shooting was also condemned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Khan was ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary confidence vote in April, after he was convicted by Pakistan’s election commission of selling state gifts unlawfully.
Since being ousted, he has held rallies across Pakistan, stirring opposition against the government, and launched his protest procession six days ago. He had planned to lead the motorized caravan slowly north up the Grand Trunk Road to Islamabad, whipping up large crowds on his way to the capital in a campaign to topple Sharif ’s government.
Khan’s followers were piled on to trucks and cars in the convoy, but many are also marching alongside on foot.
“I want that all of you participate. This is not for politics or personal gain, or to topple the government ... this is to bring genuine freedom to the country,” Khan said in a video message on the eve of the march.