Imran Khan alleges Pakistan PM Shehbaz Khan is behind attack on him

Imran Khan has alleged that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is behind an attack on him at a rally in Wazirabad on Thursday, according to Asad Umar, a senior member of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Asad Umar said Imran Khan, who is a former prime minister of Pakistan, had summoned him to hospital and instructed him to release a statement on his behalf. Khan was shot in the leg and is admitted at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, where he had surgery on Thursday evening. 

Pakistani Senator Faisal Javed Khan, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, and the former PM’s close aide, Rashid, were also injured in the attack. A gunman has been arrested.

“Imran Khan told us to issue this statement on his behalf. He believes there are 3 people at whose behest this was done – Shehbaz Sharif, Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal. He said he was receiving information and is saying this on that basis”, Asad Umar said in a video message shared by Imran Khan’s party.

He said Imran Khan has demanded that all three people be removed from their positions, warning of repercussions if they were not. 

Rana Sana Ullah is Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Major General Faisal Naseer is a senior ISI officer who Imran Khan has repeatedly attacked in speeches.

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Asad Umar said Imran Khan, 70, had spoken about having “some information about what would happen,” although the senior politician admitted he did not have any knowledge about this. 

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a statement condemning the attack on his predecessor. “I condemn the incident of firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the strongest words. I have directed Interior Minister for an immediate report on the incident. I pray for the recovery and health of PTI chairman & other injured people,” Sharif tweeted, promising all support for investigation into the attack. 

Protests have begun all over Pakistan in the wake of the attack on Imran Khan, who is one of the most popular figures in the country and their only World Cup-winning cricket captain till date.

He was Pakistan’s prime minister for three-and-a-half years before being ousted in April 2022 in a no-confidence vote. Shehbaz Khan, 71, took over as PM. 

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Ever since, Imran Khan has been calling for early elections and began what he calls the “long march” from Lahore last Friday. He plans to end the march in the country’s capital, Islamabad.