IMRAN KHAN’S PARTY TO HOLD PROTESTS AFTER ‘ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT’

Fri 04 November 2022:

As emotions in the South Asian country remained high, the party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was shot and hurt in what appeared to be an assassination attempt, announced that nationwide rallies will take place on Friday.

Khan was leading a protest march on Islamabad on Thursday when he was shot in the leg as he waved to the throng from atop a truck-mounted container and urged the government to call early elections.

“Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country, which will continue until Imran Khan’s demand is met,” Asad Umar, a close Khan aide, said on Twitter.

In addition to calling for immediate elections, Khan’s party claims he is also requesting the resignation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who oversaw the coalition of parties that overthrew Khan in a legislative vote in April.

At the site of the attempted assassination attempt, Khan’s fans started congregating once more early on Friday and urged the former prime minister to resume his march on Islamabad.

The truck-mounted container with a stage on top that Khan was traveling in stayed parked at the location, which was a busy street with stores in Wazirabad, roughly 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Islamabad.

Early in the morning, several of the stores reopened, although there was a tense atmosphere.

“This has given Wazirabad a bad name. He should stop (the protests), more lives will be lost,” said Tahirul Qamar, a medical worker who had come to the market near the scene of the shooting.

Police have not commented publicly on the attack.

Khan spent the night in hospital in Lahore under supervision of doctors, who say his life is not in danger. He is yet to speak publicly on the incident.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid, also a member of PTI, told Reuters that two bullets hit Khan in the shin and the thigh.

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 shown any proof to back up the claim.

Sharif and Sanaullah have denounced the assault and said they were not involved. Despite initially condemning the incident,

Sharif has also demanded an open investigation into the shooting, which took place in a region where Khan’s party is in power.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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