By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Tahreek-e-Insaf party has called on its supporters after Friday prayers, in a country-wide protest against an assassination attempt on its chief Imran Khan and to press removal of three top officials Khan accused of plotting the attack on his convoy near Wazirabad.
“Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country, which will continue until Imran Khan’s demand is met,” Asad Umar, a close Khan aide, said on Twitter.
Khan suffered a bullet injury in the right leg when a gun-wielding man opened fire on the convoy carrying Khan, wounding at least seven people and killing a party supporter.
After the attack, Faisal Sultan, the former assistant to the prime minister on health, said that the PTI chairman’s condition is stable.
Following the attack on Khan, protests broke out across Pakistan, where hundreds of protesters gathered, blocking roads for hours while holding party flags and chanting slogans against the army and the government.
Earlier Umar in a statement accused the prime minister, interior minister, and a senior Pakistani intelligence official of being behind the attack.
A man suspected of firing shots at the rally was detained on Thursday evening, said police, which added that the male suspect was arrested with a 9mm pistol and two empty magazines.
A video leaked to the media shows the purported shooter confessing to an attempt on the life of Khan.
Later several police officers in Punjab province were suspended by chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for leaking the suspected attacker’s confessional video statement.
PTI said Khan is determined to continue his political struggle to press the government to call for an early election.
“I will not bow down, but stay determined to bring Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom) for my fellow Pakistanis,” the party’s official Twitter handle quoted Khan as saying, adding the march would resume from Wazirabad after Friday prayers.
Khan launched his march on October 28 from Lahore with the aim to reach Islamabad on November 4 to hold a rally to force the government to announce fresh elections. But the marchers moved slowly and later changed the arrival date to Islamabad, now expected to reach on November 11.
Meanwhile, the United States has condemned the “assassination attempt” on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that there is no space for violence in politics.
Taking to Twitter, US state Secretary Antony Blinken said, “The US strongly condemns the shooting of @ImranKhanPTI at a political rally. We wish him and all others injured a quick recovery, and we offer condolences to the family of the individual who was killed. All parties should remain peaceful. Violence has no place in politics.”
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also condemned the attack and wished Imran Khan a speedy recovery. “The attack on @ImranKhanPTI and his supporters is completely unacceptable, and I strongly condemn this violence. 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,” he said in a tweet.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia also “expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the attempted assassination of Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
“The Ministry affirms the Kingdom’s standing with Pakistan and its people against all threats to its security, stability, and development process, noting the Kingdom’s support for all efforts aimed at eliminating violence, extremism, and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations while wishing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its brotherly people safety, stability and prosperity,” the statement added.
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