Imran Khan taken to hospital after bullets hit his legs during rally in Punjab province; 1 dead, several injured

By Islamuddin Sajid, Aamir Latif and Kiran Butt 

PAKISTAN (AA) - Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was injured in firing during his long march in the Wazirabad area of southeastern Punjab province on Thursday.

Khan was hit by a bullet in his leg and was transported to a hospital in northeastern Lahore city, about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) from the scene of the shooting, where he is stated to be in stable condition.

The firing left at least one person dead and several others injured, one critically, police and hospital officials confirmed.

Khan was seen on a video lying on a stretcher with a white bandage on his right leg, being moved to a bullet-proof vehicle.

“Imran Khan got a minor injury as bullets hit his both legs,” Yasmin Rashid, former health minister and senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told local ARY News.

“Thanks to Allah as Khan is safe,” she added.

“Imran Khan has been shifted to Lahore and his condition is out of danger," said Asad Umar, a former federal minister, and PTI’s secretary-general.

Video footage aired on a local TV channel showed a young man with an automatic pistol fired at Khan's container. However, his attempt was foiled by another person name Ibtisam when he grabbed his hand to snatch the weapon, and the attacker failed to target Khan.

"When I saw him (attacker) loading his pistol and pointing both hands up in the air, I ran toward him and grabbed his hand," Ibtisam said in a video statement.

Later, the attacker tried to run from the spot but was apprehended by police.

Following gunfire, footage aired on a local broadcaster showed panicked people fleeing for cover. The footage contained audible gunfire.

Police said the attacker first fired from an automatic pistol and then fired two single bullets.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party told reporters that his private bodyguard had been wrongfully detained and was being mislabeled as an attacker, "which is not true."

Meanwhile, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry called the firing “a targeted attack” on Khan and warned: “We will take revenge.”

“We are peaceful people but today they attacked us and we will take revenge,” Chaudhry told the long march’s participants.

"It was a well-planned assassination attempt on Imran Khan, the assassin planned to kill Imran Khan and the leadership of the PTI, it was not 9 MM, it was a burst from an automatic weapon, no two opinions about that, it was a narrow escape," Chaudhry said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Parvez Elahi strongly condemned the attack on Khan's march and ordered an immediate inquiry.

"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.

"Federal government will extend all support necessary to Punjab govt for security & investigation. Violence should have no place in our country's politics," he added.

President Arif Alvi also condemned the attack on the former premier and sought immediate reports from authorities.

"Heinous assassination attempt on the brave @ImranKhanPTI I thank Allah that he is safe but injured with few bullets in his leg & hopefully non-critical. This attack is shocking, alarming, disgraceful, deceitful & cowardly. May Allah give him health & to all those injured," Alvi wrote on Twitter.

"Firing incident during Long March near Gujranwala is highly condemnable. Sincere prayers for precious life lost and speedy recovery and well being of Chairman PTI Mr Imran Khan and all those injured in this unfortunate incident," said Pakistani military in a brief statement.

Condemning Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Shireen Mazari, another PTI leader, tweeted after the attack: “Rana Sana threatened to murder IK (Imran Khan) & today we saw him attempt that. He should be arrested on attempted murder as his public statement bears witness to same.”

Former federal minister and close aid of Khan, Murad Saeed, also condemned the attack on the PTI chief and tweeted: “Our red line has been crossed! You were warned!”

Imran Khan kicked off a "long march" from Lahore to the capital Islamabad on Friday in an attempt to press the government for snap elections.

'Khan is misleading people’

In a video provided by police, the suspected attacker can be heard saying that he tried to kill Khan because "he is trying to mislead the people."

The attacker, dressed in a local green shalwar-kameez and sporting a short beard and mustache, stated that he acted alone and that the "decision to kill Khan was mine. I only wanted to kill Khan. I had made the decision to kill him since he began his march from Lahore (early this week)."

However, PTI leaders expressed skepticism about the assailant's claims.

"It's not as simple as the confession. Stop treating the general public as if they are idiots. Assassins have been hired. In the past, suicide bombers have been hired in exchange for money," Hammad Azhar, the PTI's Punjab province president, told local media.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the attack on Khan was a “well-planned assassination attempt, as the suspect used an automatic weapon.”

The latest attack recalls the 2007 assassination of two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed while leading a rally at Rawalpindi's historic Liaqat Bagh (park).

In 1951, Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was also assassinated in the same park.