Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan survives assassination attempt; shot, wounded at protest march

Former Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, on Thursday afternoon survived an assassination attempt after he was shot and wounded in the leg during a protest march in the eastern city of Wazirabad.

A senior aide of the former leader who spoke to reporters after the incident, said it was a clear “attempt to kill him”, though the police is yet to confirm that Khan was the target of the attack.

The 70-year-old Khan who was ousted in April was leading the protest march on the capital Islamabad to demand snap elections when he was shot while politician was shot in the leg, while six others, including another politician, Faisal Javed Khan, were also reportedly injured in the attack.

Khan was removed from office after he was accused of incorrectly declaring details of gifts from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale, including Rolex watches, a ring and a pair of cuff links.

The former Prime Minister was seen being taken to a hospital in Lahore but
Azhar Mashwani, an official with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, confirmed that the politician was not in immediate danger.

Read also:Award winning Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, shot dead in Kenya

A male suspect was later arrested, according to Pakistan’s Geo TV with footage showing a conscious Imran Khan with a bandage on his right leg being taken away in a vehicle after the shooting.

Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the shooting and ordered an immediate investigation.

Khan has been leading a protest march, the second such rally this year, for the past seven days, calling for new elections.

In early October, the Pakistan’s election commission disqualified Khan from holding public office in a case described by the former cricketer as politically motived.

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