Khan’s Party PTI Blames Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif And Other Officials For The Incident That Left One Dead And Many Injured!

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has said in a video statement that he believed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullahand and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Naseer to be behind the attack. “Our demand is that all three be removed, and if they are not removed, then there will be country-wide protests,” he said. Popular Pakistani leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan survived an assassination attempt on his life during his highly publicized protest march against his opponents and for democracy in the country. Khan was shot and lightly wounded in the leg in the country’s east side. One of Khan’s supporters was killed in the shooting in Wazirabad, officials say. Several officials of Khan’s PTI party were also injured.

KARACHI – Popular Pakistani leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan survived an assassination attempt on his life during his highly publicized protest march against his opponents and for democracy in the country. Khan was shot and lightly wounded in the leg in the country’s east side.

One of Khan’s supporters was killed in the shooting in Wazirabad, officials say. Several officials of Khan’s PTI party were also injured, reported aljajeera.com.

Chief minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, said that it initially appeared that there were two assailants.

Elahi, whose office is in the province in which Khan’s party is in power and where the shooting occurred, said he was forming a joint investigation team.

Witnesses reported having heard gunfire before the man who was later arrested opened fire.

“I heard a burst of bullet shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck,” witness Qazzafi Butt told Reuters.

“Later, a gunman shot a single shot but was grabbed by an activist of Khan’s party.”

“Khan has appealed to the protesters to remain peaceful and said that people should not take matters into their own hands,” Hyder reported from Islamabad, adding that PTI members intended to continue the march.

He said observers in Pakistan have been pointing to discrepancies between the footage of the attack, where rounds of automatic gunfire appeared to have been shot, and the arrest of a lone attacker armed with a handgun who claimed to have acted on his own.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the attack on Khan and his supporters was “completely unacceptable”.

“I strongly condemn this violence,” he said on Twitter. “It has no place in politics, in any democracy, or in our society.

“I’m wishing a speedy recovery to Imran and all who were injured today.”

 “The United States strongly condemns the attack on Imran Khan and his supporters and hopes for the swift recovery of all who were injured,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

First wife Jemima Goldsmith has expressed relief at the news that Khan survived a shooting incident and extended her family’s gratitude to the man who tackled the attacker, potentially saving the former prime minister’s life.

“The news we dread … Thank God he’s okay,” Goldsmith, who lives in the UK, wrote on Twitter. “And thank you from his sons to the heroic man in the crowd who tackled the gunman.”

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has said in a video statement that he believed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullahand and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Naseer to be behind the attack.

“Our demand is that all three be removed, and if they are not removed, then there will be country-wide protests,” he said.

He did not provide any evidence to back the allegation.

Umar also said doctors had told him that Khan was out of danger.

The Pakistani government has formed a committee to negotiate with Khan following the shooting incident, Pakistan affairs expert Shiraz Paracha told Al Jazeera, but the PTI leader has yet to agree to talks.

“The first step now is a dialogue between the government and the opposition – which is Imran Khan,” Paracha said. “That’s the only way forward.”

The analyst added that Khan and his associates had not taken any security measures at the march, where many were carrying guns.

“Such incident is unfortunate, but was not unexpected,” he said.

Courtesy aljajeera.com