Gunman who shot and wounded Imran Khan says he was angry with the politician’s parade making a racket during call to prayer as protests over the assassination attempt are held across Pakistan
- Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan is recovering in hospital after assassination attempt at rally in Wazirabad
- Khan was shot in the leg yesterday as he waved to crowds from atop an open top container truck during rally
- The suspected shooter said he wanted to kill Khan because he was ‘misleading the public’, adding that he was angry with the procession for making a racket during the call to prayer that summons Muslims to the mosque
The gunman who shot and wounded Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he tried to assassinate the politician because he was angry with his parade making a racket during the call to prayer.
Khan was shot in the leg yesterday as he waved to crowds from atop an open top container truck during a protest march on Islamabad to remand snap elections.
A lone gunman opened fire on Khan’s convoy, killing one man and wounding 13 others in an attack that has significantly raised the stakes in the political crisis that is gripping Pakistan since Khan’s ousting in April.
The gunman was arrested at the scene, and police released a video of him in custody, allegedly confessing to the shooting and saying he acted alone.
‘I did it because (Khan) was misleading the public,’ said a dishevelled man in the video, shown with his hands tied behind his back in what appears to be a police station.
He added that he was angry with the procession for making a racket during the call to prayer that summons Muslims to the mosque five times a day.
The attempted assassination attempt on Khan, who is now recovering at the Shaukat Khanum hospital after two bullets struck him in the shin and thigh, sparked protests across Pakistan on Thursday night.
This morning, hundreds of people poured out on to the streets again as they waved flags and chanted slogans in a protest against the assassination attempt.
This morning, hundreds of people waved flags and chanted slogans as they poured out on to the streets in some parts of the country in a protest against the assassination attempt
Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, stop vehicles as they block a road during a protest near the container truck a day after the assassination attempt on Khan, at the cordoned-off site of a gun attack in Wazirabad on Friday
The attempted assassination attempt on Khan, who is now recovering at the Shaukat Khanum hospital after two bullets struck him in the shin and thigh, sparked protests across Pakistan on Thursday night
Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest against the assassination attempt on Khan, in Peshawar on Thursday night
Protesters in Pakistan lit fires as they demonstrated against the attempted assassination attempt of Imran Khan on Thursday night
Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest against the assassination attempt on Khan, in Rawalpindi on Thursday
The gunman was arrested at the scene, and police later released a video of him in custody, allegedly confessing to the shooting and saying he acted alone. ‘Only Imran Khan was my target,’ said the suspect. ‘He (Khan) was misleading the people, and I couldn’t bear it.’
Video shows Khan wearing a bandage on his leg being helped through a room after the shooting on Thursday
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is helped after he was shot in the shin in Wazirabad on Thursday
Video shows Khan standing at the front of an open top container truck during a protest march to demand snap elections when a gunman fired at the politician with an automatic pistol on Thursday
More are set to fill the streets later today, and Asad Umar, a close Khan aide, said that the protests will continue until the former premier’s demands – including snap elections – are met.
Aside from snap polls, Khan’s party says he is also calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who led a coalition of parties that removed Khan from power through a parliamentary vote in April.
Khan’s supporters began gathering again early on Friday at the spot of the apparent assassination attempt and called on the former prime minister to restart his march on Islamabad.
‘The march must go ahead. It cannot stop. People are very angry, it will become more intense,’ Ansar Bashir, 40, a Khan supporter who was close to the incident, said while holding a flag of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The 70-year-old former international cricket star had been leading a campaign convoy of thousands since last week from Lahore to the capital Islamabad when he was attacked.
Video showed the terrifying moment the politician took cover as he was shot and wounded at the rally.
Footage showed Khan standing at the front of an open top container truck during a protest march to demand snap elections when the gunman fired at the politician with an automatic pistol.
As the sound of bullets filled the air, a shocked Khan, 70, tried to take cover but he was shot in the leg. Khan’s team quickly surrounded him, as people in the crown could be heard screaming.
The violent footage from the scene shows the suspected gunman firing a burst of shots at Khan. A second man is seen trying to wrestle the gun from the would-be assassin, as the gunman tries to escape before being arrested.
Khan’s ex-wife, British socialite and screenwriter Jemima Goldsmith, tweeted a picture of the man who wrestled the shooter, hailing him as a ‘hero’.
Goldsmith, who has two sons Kasim and Sulaiman Isa with Khan, said: ‘The news we dread. Thank God he’s okay. And thank you from his sons to the heroic man in the crowd who tackled the gunman.’
Video later shows Khan wearing a bandage on his leg, waving to supporters after getting shot before he was helped down from an open top container truck and placed carefully into a vehicle.
People chant slogans as they condemn the shooting incident on a long march held by Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Wazirabad, Pakistan, on Friday
Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest against the assassination attempt on Khan, in Lahore on Thursday
Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest against the assassination attempt on Khan, outside the hospital where Khan is admitted, in Lahore on Thursday
Supporters of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, chant slogans as they block a road during a protest to condemn a shooting incident on their leader’s convoy, in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, chant slogans as they block a road during a protest to condemn a shooting incident on their leader’s convoy, in Karachi, Pakistan,
Supporters of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest against the assassination attempt on Khan, in Peshawar on Thursday
Supporters of Pakistan former Prime Minister Imran Khan, block a road following the shooting incident on his long march in Wazirabad, during a protest in Karachi, on Thursday
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shot in the leg in an assassination attempt at a rally. He is seen here waving to fans after being shot
Among the wounded was Faisal Javed, a lawmaker from Tehreek-e-Insaf. In a video statement, with blood staining his clothes, Javed said Khan’s protest march to Islamabad would not stop
One person was killed in the attack (pictured) and nine others were wounded after the gunman opened fire in district in the Wazirabad eastern Punjab province
Pakistan’s history of coups and assassinations
2007 – Two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack after holding an election rally in Rawalpindi. A few months before her death, she survives a suicide bomb assassination attempt in Karachi, where at least 139 people are killed in one of the country’s deadliest attacks.
1999 – Former army chief Pervez Musharraf seizes power in a bloodless coup. He is sworn in as president and head of state in June 2001. He resigns in 2008 and Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s husband, takes over as president.
1988 – Military ruler President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq is killed when the Hercules C-130 aircraft carrying him crashes in mysterious circumstances. Conspiracy theorists have suggested a case of mangoes put aboard the plane shortly before takeoff contained a timer device that released gas that knocked out the cockpit crew.
1979 – Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the father of Benazir who was elected as prime minister in 1970, is hanged on a disputed conviction for conspiring to commit a political murder by Zia ul-Haq.
1977 – Zia ul-Haq seizes power after a coup against the Bhutto government. He puts Bhutto under house arrest, imposes martial law, suspends the constitution and bans political parties
1973 – Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto elected as prime minister, taking over from General Yahya Khan.
1958 – In Pakistan’s first military coup, Governor-General Iskander Mirza enforces martial law with General Ayub Khan as chief martial law administrator. Ayub Khan later assumes the presidency and sacks Mirza, who is exiled.
1951 – Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, after the 1947 partition of India, is shot dead at a political rally in Rawalpindi.
Khan escaped with two bullet wounds to his shin and thigh when a gunmen sprayed pistol fire at his modified container truck as it slowly drove through a thick crowd in Wazirabad, around 100 miles east of Islamabad.
Describing the attack, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who was standing behind Khan, said: ‘There was a guy who was in front of the container who had this automatic pistol. He fired a burst. Everyone who was standing in the very front row got hit.’
He said supporters in the crowd tried to snatch the gun from the attacker. ‘In that scuffle he missed the target. There was so much blood on the container.’
‘This was an attempt to kill Khan, to assassinate him,’ his senior aide, Raoof Hasan, said, as protesters poured out on to the streets in some parts of the country and his supporters demanded justice.
Among the wounded was Faisal Javed, a lawmaker from Tehreek-e-Insaf. In a video statement, with blood staining his clothes, Javed said Khan’s protest march to Islamabad would not stop.
Several leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have blamed the government for the assassination attempt, which the authorities have denied.
Khan had demanded police investigate Prime Minister Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal, alleging they were behind the attack, according to Punjab government spokesperson and PTI leader Mussarat Jamshed Cheema.
Khan and his party have not produced any evidence to support the allegation, while Sharif and Sanaullah have condemned the attack and deny involvement.
Chaudhry said PTI officials would meet later Friday to discuss the immediate fate of Khan’s campaign march, but vowed it would continue.
‘The real freedom long march will continue and the movement for people’s rights will remain until an announcement on the general elections,’ he tweeted.
For now, Khan’s campaign truck has become a crime scene, cordoned off and guarded by commandos as forensic experts comb the area.
Overnight, thousands of Khan supporters gathered for a peek, many waving party banners.
Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist militancy for decades, and politicians are frequently targeted by assassination attempts.
The attack raised new concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation with a massive population of 225 million people.
Pakistan has a decades-long history of political assassinations, including that of Benazir Bhutto, the first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country, in 2007.
The attack happened less than a week after Khan began his march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, along with thousands of supporters.
Footage from the scene also appears to shows a suspected gunman (left in circle wearing a black top) shooting towards Khan’s convoy. A second man (in a blue and red top in cicle) is seen trying to wrestle the gun from the shooter, but he manages to escape.
The shooter manages to escape but a huge crowd chase him down the street
Khan’s ex-wife, British screenwriter Jemima Goldsmith, tweeted a picture of the man who wrestled the shooter, describing him as a ‘hero’
Video grabs show the moment the suspected gunman was arrested by police, as a crowd of Khan’s supporters tried to hit him
A crowd of Khan’s supporters try and hit the suspected gunman after he opened fire on the former Prime Minister
Each day during his so-called ‘long march’ 70 year-old Khan has mounted a shipping container towed by a lorry, making speeches from the open top to crowds of thousands in cities and towns along the way.
Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, Khan has alleged that his ouster was a conspiracy engineered by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States – claims that both the new premier and Washington have denied.
Still, Khan – a former cricket star and national sports hero turned Islamist politician – remains a hugely popular figure and his convoy’s journey, expected to be capped with an open-ended rally in Islamabad, could present a significant challenge to the new administration.
Khan has also been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment for supporting the current Sharif.
‘We are not sheep, we are human beings and no one is going to accept neither the imported thieves of this government nor their facilitators,’ Khan lashed out during a speech Saturday.
Khan has promised his march will remain peaceful and aimed at forcing Sharif to call early elections – but his attempted assassination attempt shows just how divided the nation is.
The prime minster has repeatedly declined this call for early elections, saying parliamentary elections will take place as scheduled in 2023.
Khan’s latest challenge to the government comes after Pakistan’s elections commission disqualified him from holding public office for five years for allegedly selling state gifts unlawfully and concealing assets as premier.
Khan, who has challenged the disqualification in a pending court case, has said he would sue Chief Election Commissioner Sikandara Raja, who was behind the decision, for calling him a ‘dishonest person.’
Khan has repeatedly told supporters he was prepared to die for the country, and aides have long warned of unspecified threats made on his life.
The attack drew international condemnation including from the United States, which had uneasy relations with Khan when he was in power.
‘Violence has no place in politics, and we call on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment and intimidation,’ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The attack comes at a time when impoverished Pakistan is grappling with the aftermath of unprecedented floods that struck this Islamic nation over the summer, killing 1,735 people and displacing 33 million.
Political instability in Pakistan sparks violence
The attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a rally has raised new concerns about the growing instability in Pakistan.
Since Khan’s ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, Khan has mobilised mass rallies across the country, where he has whipped up crowds with claims that he was a victim of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both the new premier and Washington have denied such allegations.
Khan began his march to Islamabad a week ago as part of his campaign aimed at forcing Sharif and his government to hold early elections following his ouster.
The prime minster has repeatedly declined Khan’s call for early elections, saying parliamentary elections will take place as scheduled in 2023.
The shooter said his motive for the attack was that Khan ‘was misleading the people’. Faisal Butt added: ‘I couldn’t bear it so I attempted to kill him. I tried my best to kill him. I wanted to kill Imran Khan only and no one else.’
The attack, where the shooter said comes amid heightened tensions in Pakistan.
Khan has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military for supporting the current Sharif and he has refused to back down from his plans to march on the capital.
‘We are not sheep, we are human beings and no one is going to accept neither the imported thieves of this government nor their facilitators,’ Khan lashed out during a speech Saturday.
The military has said that although Khan had a democratic right to hold a rally in Islamabad, no one would be allowed to destabilize the country.
Authorities in Islamabad have already deployed additional security around the city to deter any clashes or violence.
Khan’s latest challenge to the government comes after Pakistan’s elections commission disqualified him from holding public office for five years for allegedly selling state gifts unlawfully and concealing assets as premier.
Khan, who has challenged the disqualification in a pending court case, has said he would sue Chief Election Commissioner Sikandara Raja, who was behind the decision, for calling him a ‘dishonest person.’
Pakistan has a decades-long history of political assassinations, including that of Benazir Bhutto, the first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country, in 2007. She died when a huge bomb detonated near her vehicle.
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