Imran Khan: Pakistan’s former prime minister shot in the leg in an assassination attempt at a rally.

Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
–

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was shot in the leg during a rally on Thursday, a party official said, calling it an assassination attempt.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Asad Umar said Khan was shot in the leg after an unidentified gunman opened fire.

The former Pakistan cricket captain was taken from the rally site outside the city of Gujranwala to seek treatment in Lahore. At least three others were injured in the shooting. The extent of the other injuries is not yet known.

On October 21, the Election Commission of Pakistan recommended that Khan be barred from holding political office for five years, a move that could further exacerbate political tensions in the country.

While reading the resolution, ECP chief Sikandar Sultan said that Raja Khan was not fit to be involved in the “corruption”.

The commission said the decision was made because Khan “made false statements” about the sale of gifts sent to Saudi Arabia and Dubai while they were in power, which is illegal under the country’s constitution. .

Khan sat out a no-confidence vote in April following claims of mismanagement and economic mismanagement.

Since then, without providing any evidence, he has repeatedly claimed that the United States orchestrated his impeachment. Khan’s accusations have become a major agenda item in the protests for his return to power in Pakistan.

His claims struck a chord with the young population in a country steeped in anti-Americanism, and anti-establishment sentiment fueled by the rising cost of living.

This is not the first time that Pakistani politicians have come under attack.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, and then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani survived an assassination attempt in 2008.