ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — On Thursday, a shooter opened fire on a campaign truck carrying Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, injuring him slightly as well as some of his followers, according to a top representative from his party and police.
According to Asad Umar, a party spokesman, Khan was injured in the leg but was not gravely affected. The gunman's name, who was apprehended at the site, was not immediately known. There has been no claim of responsibility for the shooting.
The attack occurred in the Wazirabad district of the eastern Punjab province, where Khan was travelling in a massive convoy of trucks and automobiles headed towards the capital, Islamabad, as part of his campaign to force the government to call early elections.
According to accounts and a grainy image, Khan was later seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot. He was transferred from his container truck to another vehicle, from which assurances that he was safe were made.
"Khan is being driven to Lahore; he is not serious, but he got a bullet wounded," Umar added, adding that Khan's opponent could not see Pakistan changing. He, on the other hand, blamed no one for the attack.
"He's being transported to a hospital in Lahore, but he's not gravely hurt." "He was wounded in the keg by a gunshot," Umar told reporters. The government, according to the Interior Ministry, has initiated an investigation into the incident.
According to the party's declaration, an undefined number of supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party who were marching with him were also injured.
The attack occurred less than a week after Khan and thousands of supporters began their march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.
Since his expulsion in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, Khan has claimed that his removal was the result of a conspiracy orchestrated by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the US – charges that both the new premier and the US have refuted.
Sharif's government has also stated that there will be no early voting and that the next elections will take place on time, in 2023.
According to Geo TV, a shooter fired from close range on the container mounted vehicle transporting the former prime minister. According to the report, one person was arrested on the spot and taken to an unknown destination by police.
Initially, it was claimed that Khan was unharmed, but that some individuals had been injured. However, it was later revealed that Khan was also hurt in the incident. According to sources, Khan's close aide Senator Faisal Javed was also hurt in the attack.
Khan's latest attack on the government comes after Pakistan's elections commission barred him from holding public office for five years for allegedly illegally selling official gifts and hiding assets as prime minister.
Khan, who is suing Chief Election Commissioner Sikandara Raja for labelling him a "dishonest person" in a current court case, has claimed he will sue Raja for calling him a "dishonest person."
