The former prime minister Imran Khan was shot as his convoy came under fire in the eastern Punjab region according to party sources and police.
After a gunman opened fire on a convoy transporting the former prime minister Imran Khan, wounded him and killing a fan as he led a march on Islamabad to demand snap elections, protesters took to the streets of Pakistan.
A party aide reported that Khan, 70, had suffered a lower leg injury and was in stable condition following what his supporters are calling an assassination attempt. “With an automatic weapon, a man started shooting. There are several injuries. Soon after the shooting, Asad Umar stated that Imran Khan had also been hurt.
It was not immediately known who the shooter was who was detained on the site. Online videos of a disheveled man with his hands bound behind his back, appearing to be in police custody, claimed the man had planned to kill Khan. Video from the scene shows a shooter being subdued by another man as he attempts to shoot Khan with his gun, which is purportedly a 9mm automatic handgun. In the midst of the panic, several of the crowd break off to pursue and subdue the attacker.
Following the shooting, protests broke out throughout Pakistan, blocking major thoroughfares and causing severe traffic jams in numerous towns, including the capital, Islamabad. On Friday, Khan’s supporters predicted more demonstrations.
The attack took place in Punjab province’s Wazirabad district, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of the former international cricket player, is in charge. The former prime minister was moving toward Islamabad in a sizable convoy of lorries and cars as part of his push to persuade the administration to call early elections that might result in his reelection.
A senator from Khan’s party named Faisal Javed who was hurt in the event spoke to local media while wearing blood on his shirt. “One political worker was slain, while Imran Khan and several political associates were hurt. We pray for him and he is safe,” he stated.
Local reporter Zeeshan Bakhsh, who was present, informed the local media that first nobody knew what was happening and others believed it to be fireworks. Everything happened in 15 seconds, he claimed, adding, “I saw someone lying on the ground after the initial blast.”
Seven individuals were hurt, and one person, Muazzam Nawaz, was killed, according to Punjab police.
Political violence has a long history in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister, was killed in a bomb and gun attack in December 2007 in the nearby city of Rawalpindi after holding an electoral rally. Jemima Goldsmith, Khan’s first wife, tweeted: “The news we fear. Godspeed to his health. And thank you to the brave dad in the crowd who subdued the shooter on behalf of his boys.
