Ex-pakistan PM calls off march to avoid havoc

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, in his first public appearance since being wounded in a gun attack earlier this month, said he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country.

Khan has been holding countrywide protests to push the government for early elections since being ousted from power in April.

The protests were to culminate in a march to Islamabad, which threatened to worsen political turmoil in the nuclear-armed country, which is battling an economic crisis.

“I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be havoc and the loss will be to the country,” Khan said on Saturday while speaking at a gathering of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Tight security was in place for Khan’s appearance. A police official told local television channel Geo TV that a total of 10,000 personnel had been deployed for the event, with snipers positioned at various points for his security.

Khan was earlier this month shot in the shin when his antigovernment protest convoy bound for Islamabad came under attack in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt by his rivals.

On Saturday, Khan arrived on stage using a walking frame and addressed the crowd from behind bulletproof glass.

He said he had been told by various security sources that there was still a threat to his life.