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Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has said his country is heading for a ‘bloody revolution’ after revealing he has recorded a video naming the four people who were behind the assassination attempt that saw him shot in the leg by a gunman at a rally on Thursday.
Khan, 70, today repeated his claim that current Prime Minister Sharif Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister Rana Sanaullah and a senior army commander of plotting the botched assassination attempt that left him wounded.
‘These three decided to kill me,’ Khan told reporters in Lahore in his first public appearance since he was rushed to hospital after the attack. He also demanded that the trio resign.
‘There is no third way. I have seen this nation wake up and this genie of awareness won’t go back in the bottle,’ Khan said, claiming wheels had been set in motion for a revolution. ‘Now decide if we can bring change in a peaceful way through the ballot box and fair and free election or through chaos.’
He also vowed to take to the streets once he had recovered from the attack, saying he refused to remain under the ‘slavery of these thieves’. ‘As soon as I get well, I will give the call for the Islamabad and come out onto the streets.’
Sitting in a wheelchair with his right leg bandaged and propped up on a chair in front of him, Khan said the video would be released if he dies under suspicious circumstances, adding that the footage has been hidden ‘abroad’.
The politician, looking tired during his first national address since the assassination attempt, also revealed X-Ray images of the bullets that were lodged in his leg after he was shot and wounded on Thursday.
Khan had been leading a march on Islamabad to demand snap elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Sharif when a lone gunman opened fire on his convoy, killing one man and wounding 13 others.
Describing the attack, Khan said he remembers hearing a ‘burst of bullets’ and a sudden searing pain in his leg as a bullet hit him. ‘Because I fell down, I think the shooter thought I had died and fled,’ Khan said, adding that he thought there were two shooters.
Speaking Friday, he claimed there were two shooters involved. This could not be immediately verified.
The assassination attempt has sparked violent protests, with police officers firing tear gas at protesters wielding stones and slingshots in Pakistan today.
Khan, 70, sitting in a wheelchair with his right leg bandaged and propped up on a chair in front of him, said he will release the video if he dies under suspicious circumstances, adding that the footage has been stashed somewhere ‘abroad’
The politician, looking tired during his first national address since the assassination attempt, also revealed X-Ray images of the bullets that were lodged in his leg after he was shot and wounded on Thursday
Pictured: Supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan protest following the attempt on his life on Thursday. Here, hundreds of protesters are seen both on top of and under a bridge in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on November 4. Tear has is seen rising from amongst the crowd, which does not seem deterred
Pictured: Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’ throw stones toward police officers and set fire to branches in the street during a protest to condemn a shooting incident on their leader’s convoy
Pictured: Pakistani police block a road in Karachi, Pakistan that is filled with protesters taking to the streets following the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was leading a march when he was shot
Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, shout slogans beside burning tyres as they block the main highway 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
Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, shout slogans beside burning tyres as they block the main highway 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
Police fire tear gas shell to disperse supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’ during a protest to condemn a shooting incident on their leader’s convoy, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Friday
In chaotic scenes, video from Faizabad on the outskirts of Islamabad shows scores of protesters lining up and throwing stones at the riot police. Police officers used batons and fired tear gas to disperse them, with some protesters detained during the clashes.
In the eastern city of Lahore, Khan’s supporters damaged the main gate of the governor’s office and in the southern port city of Karachi, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s allies are in power, hundreds of Khan’s supporters clashed with police.
The protesters are calling for a transparent investigation into the attempted assassination of the former premier after he was shot in the leg yesterday as he waves to crowds from atop an open top container truck.
Shortly after Khan was shot, 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.
Khan is now recovering at the Shaukat Khanum hospital after four bullets struck him in the shin and thigh – he is expected to hold a news conference later today to announce the e future strategy for his march, which was halted after Thursday’s shooting.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters stand amid tear gas as they clash with the police during a protest after Khan suffered a gunshot wound the day before, near Wazirabad, in Karachi, on Friday
Pakistani security officials arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday
A protester holds up a sign which reads ‘we are not animals, stop killing’ following the assassination attempt on Khan
Video shows some of Khan’s supporters burning tyres outside the Punjab Governor’s house in Lahore to protest against the attack. Some demonstrators tried to break into the building and broke CCTV cameras, reports Dawn
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.’
The attack on Khan prompted hundreds of protesters to fill the streets of cities across Pakistan on Thursday night.
Those protests continued today, with thousands waving flags and chanting slogans. The protests did turn violent in the afternoon, with some protesters throwing rocks at police officers.
Video shows some of Khan’s supporters burning tyres outside the Punjab Governor’s house in Lahore to protest against the attack. Some demonstrators tried to break into the building and broke CCTV cameras, reports Dawn.
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 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.
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
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, in Rawalpindi 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,
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
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
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid, also a member of PTI, told Reuters that two bullets hit Khan in the shin and the thigh.
But earlier reports suggested that Khan may have been hit my splinters of a ricocheting 9mm bullet fired by the attackers.
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.
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