During a self-led anti-government protest, Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, was shot in the lower leg in what is suspected to be an assassination attempt. According to Punjab police, one supporter was killed and several others were injured in the shooting.
Soon after, a video emerged showing a bloody Senator Faisal Javed, a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party politician and Khan supporter, claiming he was one of the injured. He went on to say, “Please pray for us, for Imran Khan, pray for our fellow workers who are severely injured and pray for our party member who has died and is martyred.”
Khan was greeting supporters during his long protest convoy to Islamabad in the eastern part of Pakistan. Police quickly took a suspect into custody, and released a purported confession video. Although we can not currently substantiate the validity of the video, it features a man claiming that he was responsible for the assassination attempt because he believed Khan “was misleading people.”
According to the physician who treated Khan, the former prime minister is out of imminent danger despite an x-ray showing bullet fragments in his legs.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 2019. [State Department photo by Michael Gross/ Public Domain]
Assassination attempt thought to have been interrupted
“If the shooter had not been stopped by people there, the entire PTI leadership would have been wiped out.” -Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesperson for the PTI party
Jemima Goldsmith, Khan’s former spouse, took to twitter to praise a man who is credited with tackling the alleged gunman.
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. https://t.co/DGoxlJGwxb— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) November 3, 2022
In April, Khan was ousted from power after a no-confidence motion was passed. He vehemently denies the allegations that led to the ex-cricketer being ousted from his position. A charismatic leader, Khan has been garnering much support in his campaign to topple the current Pakistani government.
The country is still recovering from a recent “monsoon on steroids.” The unprecedented rainfall led to mass flooding and left a third of Pakistan underwater.
