Attempt made on Khan’s life
PROTESTS erupted in multiple cities across Pakistan following the assassination bid on the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) chairman, Imran Khan, during PTI’S long march in Gujranwala on Thursday.
Khan and other PTI leaders were injured after a man opened fire near the PTI reception camp at the Allahwala Chowk during the march, ARY News reported.
Khan was hit in his leg by gunfire while leading a march on the nation’s capital. A suspect was arrested.
The police and witnesses said the bullets were fired from three different directions.
One of the assailants, they said, fired on Khan’s container from the roof of a nearby workshop.
Following the gun attack, protests erupted in different cities across the country. PTI workers started demonstrations in 17 localities in Karachi.
Police contingents rushed to the protest venues and started negotiations with the protesters to clear the roads. Huge traffic jams were witnessed in different areas as protests broke out in Karachi.
PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said some people took the statement of the suspected attacker and sent it to news channels when the alleged perpetrators identity was doubtful.
Gill said that in the footage, the alleged attacker was wearing a waistcoat but in a later picture taken while he was giving the statement, the waistcoat had disappeared, reports The News International.
He said the facts were being distorted by giving them a different colour but it was an assassination attempt on the former prime minister.
PTI leader Imran Ismail said the confession of the suspected gunman appeared to be an “eyewash aimed at confusing the nation”.
“I heard a burst from an automatic weapon distinctly separate from the gunshots fired by this guy.
“The Supreme Court must step in to form a judicial commission headed by their senior-most judges to investigate the murder of (journalist) Arshad Sharif, which will unearth today’s conspiracy.”
UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned the attack on Khan and hoped it would not affect the situation in the country further, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms any political violence, any violence, against politicians or their supporters,” he said.
He called for a “full investigation” into the attack on Khan. |