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The assassination attempt on former Pakistan PM Imran Khan

04 November 2022, MVT 17:02
Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, take part in a protest near the container truck a day after the assassination attempt on Khan, at the cordoned-off site of a gun attack in Wazirabad on November 4, 2022. - Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan was recovering in hospital on November 4 after an assassination attempt that left him with a gunshot wound to the leg. -- Photo: Aamir Qureshi / AFP
04 November 2022, MVT 17:02

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was shot in the leg in an attempted assassination on Thursday afternoon.

Here's what we know about the incident so far:

The attack

Khan was hit by a spray of gunfire during a rally in the eastern city of Wazirabad. The 70-year-old was standing atop a mobile shipping container addressing supporters, one week into a slow-moving procession towards the capital Islamabad.

Local TV stations aired footage showing Khan and his entourage duck as automatic gunfire rings out. Hospital records show that in addition to Khan ten more people were wounded, three with gunshot injuries, and one person killed.

Protestors lit fires and blocked roads in several cities across Pakistan late Thursday, and further official demonstrations are planned after Friday prayers.

The injuries

Khan was taken to hospital in Lahore and has undergone surgery, but doctors say his condition is stable. It is not yet clear how many bullets struck him.

A witness said Khan was conscious after the attack and flashed the victory sign before being whisked from the scene.

The former cricketing star was in hospital overnight, but has been holding meetings with colleagues in his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

He is due to make an address on Friday afternoon.

The shooter

Police are holding one man in custody. An apparent confession video circulating online -- and cited by the government -- shows the dishevelled suspect admitting to attacking Khan for "misleading the public".

He said Khan's protest convoy was making a riot of noise interrupting the call to prayer which summons Muslims to mosques five times a day.

It remains unclear whether the shooter was part of any political or militant groups.

According to witnesses and video a member of the crowd interrupted the attacker, wrestling with him as he took aim and causing him to miss his mark.

The background

Khan became prime minister in 2018 but presided over an economic downturn and lost the crucial backing of the powerful military establishment.

He was ousted by a no-confidence vote in April and has been campaigning for a snap election ever since.

The history

Pakistani politicians are frequently targeted by attacks but security measures remain lax.

The nation's first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead at a rally in Rawalpindi in 1951.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007 when a huge bomb detonated near her vehicle as she greeted supporters in the city of Rawalpindi.

For decades Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist hardliners, who have found a heartland along the porous border with Afghanistan.

© Agence France-Presse

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