JAKARTA - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the bone dry on Thursday, when a convoy of anti-government protests he led was attacked in the east of the country, with party officials calling it an attempted murder.
Several other people in the convoy were injured, while the information minister said a suspect had been arrested. A party member said there were reports that one person had died.
"It was a clear assassination attempt. Khan was shot but he is stable. There is a lot of bleeding," Fawad Chaudhry, spokesman for the Khan Pakistan party Tereek-e-Insaf (PTI), told Reuters, as reported November 3.
"If the shooter is not stopped by the people there, all the PTI leaders will die," he continued.
Faisalgan's party partner, who was also injured and had blood stains on his clothes, told Geo TV from the hospital: "Some of our colleagues were injured. We heard that one of them had died."
Local media showed a picture of Khan, 70, waving at the crowd after being evacuated from his vehicle after the shooting.
He was taken to a hospital in Lahore after an attack in Wazirabad, nearly 200 km (120 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.
Protesters took to the streets in parts of the country, as PTI leaders demanded justice.
Khan, a former cricketer, led a protest march in Islamabad to demand a faster election, but the government said it would be held on schedule in October or November next year. There were hundreds of people in the convoy.
It is known, Khan had planned to lead a motorized convoy slowly north to Grand Trunk Road then to Islamabad, attracting more support along the way before entering the capital.
"I want all of you to participate. This is not for politics or personal gain, or to overthrow the government. It is to bring true freedom to this country," Khan exclaimed in a video message ahead of the march.
Since its ouster in April by parliamentary vote, Khan has held rallies across Pakistan, raising opposition to the government that is struggling to bring the economy out of the crisis left by Khan's administration.
Separately, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the shooting and ordered an investigation.
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