Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has accused three government officials of being involved in the assassination attempt against him on Thursday, a spokesperson for his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a video message.
The accusations singled out current Pakistani Priime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and Major General Faisal Naseer. PTI spokesperson Asad Umar called for the immediate removal of the officials from their posts in his statement, but offered no evidence behind the claims that they were somehow involved in the incident.
The attack on Khan, which took place at a political rally in Lahore Thursday morning, ended with the former prime minister getting shot in the foot and rushed to a nearby hospital. He is now in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.
ADVERTISEMENT
A suspect, who is accused of firing multiple shots at the rally that killed one person and injured at least six, was arrested on site, according to local media reports. He was reportedly carrying a 9mm pistol as well as ammunition, and allegedly admitted to carrying out the attack in a video message, according to Pakistani authorities.
“Please pray for us, for Imran Khan, pray for our fellow workers who are severely injured and pray for our party member who has died and is martyred,” PTI said in a statement in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
Prime Minister Shariz had publicly condemned the incident, calling it “heinous” and demanding an investigation be carried out just hours before the PTI party accused him of being culpable in masterminding the shooting.
“I condemn the incident of firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the strongest words,” Shariz said in a statement. “Violence should have no place in our country’s politics.”
At the time of the assassination attempt, Khan had been leading a protest calling for new elections after the former prime minister was barred from holding public office. The decision was made due to a series of corruption scandals, including accusations that Khan accepted jewelry and a Rolex watch as gifts from foreign dignitaries without properly declaring them.
The 70-year-old, who was ousted from office in April following a no-confidence vote, has lambasted the accusations against him as politically motivated.
