Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in his leg on Friday after an unidentified assailant fired multiple bullets at him during a rally in Wazirabad, his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf wrote in a tweet.
In a statement, the country’s Punjab Police said that one person was killed and seven others were injured during the attack, the Dawn reported. Among those injured were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders Faisal Javed and Ahmad Chattha.
The Wazirabad Police told Al Jazeera that the person who died was one of Khan’s supporters.
Khan was stable and waved at his supporters after the attack. The assailant is under arrest, according to Pakistani media reports.
The assailant told the police that he wanted to kill Khan, alleging that the former prime minister was misleading the public.
“I could not bear watching it so I attempted to kill him,” he said in a video statement, according to the Dawn. “I tried my best to kill him. I wanted to kill Imran Khan only and no one else.”
He added that he acted on his own and had no accomplice.
Earlier, visuals shared on social media showed Khan and others riding atop a van and then ducking as gunshots are heard. In another video, an injured Khan is being moved to a vehicle with the help of his security team.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice President Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters that the incident was a clear assassination attempt.
“There was a lot of bleeding,” he said. “If the shooter had not been stopped by people there, the entire PTI leadership would have been wiped out.”
Two other party leaders – Asad Umar and Mian Aslam Iqbal – claimed in a video message that Khan has alleged that three persons were behind the attack.
“He [Khan] believes there are three people on whose behest this was done – Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Army Major General Faisal,” the duo alleged. “He said he was receiving info and is saying this on that basis”
Meanwhile, Sharif condemned the attack and said that he has asked the interior minister to submit a report on the attack. He also assured the government’s support for an investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, New Delhi said it was closely monitoring the developments.
“It’s a development that just took place,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. “We will continue to monitor ongoing developments.”
The rally in Wazirabad was part of Khan’s ‘long march’ which began on October 28 against Sharif’s government. The rally is scheduled to reach Islamabad on November 11.
The cricketer-turned-politician was ousted from power on April 10 after a no-confidence motion was passed against him. In recent months Khan has been mobilising his supporters and challenging the current Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In July, Khan had demanded fresh general elections in the country after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party defeated the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party in a crucial Punjab assembly bye-poll.
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