ISLAMABAD –
A gunman opened fireplace at a marketing campaign truck carrying Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, wounding him barely and in addition a few of his supporters, a senior chief from his celebration and police stated.
Party official Asad Umar stated Khan was wounded in the leg and was not severely damage. The id of the gunman, who was arrested on the scene, was not instantly identified. No group has claimed accountability for the capturing.
According to police, the attack occurred in the Wazirabad district in the japanese Punjab province the place Khan was travelling in a big convoy of vans and vehicles heading in the direction of the capital, Islamabad, as a part of his marketing campaign geared toward forcing the federal government to carry early elections.
The motives of the attacker had been unknown, and it was additionally unclear whether or not the capturing was an try on Khan’s life.
The capturing underscored the rising political instability in Pakistan, with each the federal government and Khan — a former cricket star turned Islamist politician — refusing to again down from their positions. The nation’s highly effective army has stated that though Khan had a democratic proper to carry a rally in Islamabad, nobody will probably be allowed to destabilize the nation. Authorities in Islamabad have already deployed extra safety across the metropolis to discourage any clashes or violence.
Khan with later seen with a bandage on his proper leg, simply above the foot, in accordance with experiences and a blurry picture. He was moved to a different car from his container truck, from the place bulletins had been being made that he was protected.
“He is being taken to a hospital in Lahore, however he isn’t severely wounded. A bullet hit him in the leg,” Umar advised reporters. According to the Interior Ministry, the federal government has ordered a probe into the incident.
An unspecified variety of supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf celebration who had been a part of the march had been additionally wounded, in accordance with the announcement from the celebration.
The attack occurred lower than every week after Khan started his march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, together with 1000’s of supporters.
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 each the brand new premier and Washington have denied.
Sharif’s authorities has additionally stated that there could be no early vote and that the following elections will probably be held in accordance with schedule, in 2023.
Khan’s newest problem to the federal government comes after Pakistan’s elections fee disqualified him from holding public workplace for 5 years for allegedly promoting state items unlawfully and concealing property as premier.
Khan, who has challenged the disqualification in a pending court docket case, has stated he would sue Chief Election Commissioner Sikandara Raja, who was behind the choice, for calling him a “dishonest individual.”
It was additionally not instantly identified if Khan’s convoy would proceed on to Islamabad. Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry, a senior chief in Khan’s celebration, had stated they plan to enter Islamabad on Friday.
The attack additionally comes at a time when impoverished Pakistan is grappling with the aftermath of unprecedented floods that struck this Islamic nation over the summer season, killing 1,735 individuals and displacing 33 million.