ISLAMABAD, Nov 4 (EW): An assassination attempt on ousted Pakistan premier Imran Khan has shocked the nation while supporters of the former ruling party took to the streets to protest the gun attack on the party chairman who was shot in the shin during the long march.
The cricketer-turned-politician is in stable condition as he received multiple bullets in the leg while leading an anti-government march near Wazirabad on Thursday.
Soon after the attack, charged PTI workers protested outside the residence of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in his hometown of Faisalabad, who earlier warned PTI chief of ‘consequences’.
Besides Punjab, PTI workers also blocked roads, burn tyres and chanted anti-government slogans in Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and other cities.
During the protests, PTI workers also clashed with law enforcers at Faizabad Interchange in the twin cities where cops disperse the crowd using tear gas.
As the political crisis worsened, several main highways were blocked and footages show smoke bellowing on roads.
To curb any serious situation, security was beefed up across many cities where levies and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were also deployed.
Videos shared on social media show the attacker waving a gun in the air and firing bullets when one of the PTI supporters jumps on him to snatch the pistol.
Onlookers said that the attacker was carrying an automatic pistol and he missed the target after he captured the long march participants.
Taking to Twitter, PTI shared a video of the moments when Khan was shifted being rushed to a hospital from the container. The PTI chief can be seen encouraging his supporters by waving his hand despite being hit by bullets on his legs.
“The Jihad will continue,” the caption for the video post read.
The former prime minister was shifted to the Shukat Khanum Hospital for treatment and his condition is set to be out of danger.
Police have arrested the suspect from the scene. In a video statement recorded to the police, the alleged attacker said that he had planned to assassinate Imran Khan the day he started his long march from Lahore.
Meanwhile, a PTI leader, Raoof Hassan, claimed that there were two attackers, adding that one was killed on the spot while the other has been arrested.
