By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday said he had received information about the assassination attempt a day before it occurred, accusing three top figures in the country’s political establishment, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of a failed plot to kill him.
In his first public appearance after being shot in the foot during a protest rally near Gujranwala, Khan, seated in front of a Pakistani flag, with his leg elevated in a cast, named three individuals — PM Sharif, Interior minister Rana Sanaullah and an army official Major-General Faisal Nasser — and demanded their resignation.
The ousted prime minister, however, did not provide evidence for his claim.
“A nation isn’t free until it gets justice. All the three people involved [in the attack] should resign. Otherwise, the investigation won’t be able to proceed,” Khan said.
Khan suffered multiple bullet injuries in the right leg when a gun-wielding man opened fire on the convoy on Thursday, wounding at least seven people and killing a party supporter.
The protest march had been called to demand early elections. Khan was leading the march, which was meant to end in the capital Islamabad a week later.
Later, a man suspected of firing shots at the rally was detained with a 9mm pistol and two empty magazines. A leaked video shows the purported shooter confessing to an attempt on the life of Khan.
The military quickly condemned Khan’s remarks, describing them as “baseless allegations”.
“The baseless and irresponsible allegations by chairman PTI against the institution and particularly a senior army officer are absolutely unacceptable and uncalled for,” the military said in a written statement. “No one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity.”
The Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of the military, said “the honor, safety, and prestige of its rank and file is being tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealousy safeguard its officers and soldiers no matter what.”
The ISPR said the baseless allegations hurled at the institution and officials “are highly regrettable and strongly condemned”.
“Keeping this in view, the government of Pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever.”
PM Sharif also condemned the shooting and ordered an investigation.
Khan claimed that the sinister plot was planned to assassinate him in the same way as former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was killed in 2011 by a religious extremist saying he had received information from “insiders”.
“How did I find out? Insiders told me. The day before Wazirabad, they made the plan to kill me as they saw the number of people increasing, using the script of religious extremism,” he said. “The handlers had planned to kill me in the same way former Punjab governor Taseer was killed.”
“Firstly, they accused me of blasphemy […] they made tapes and released them and PMLN projected it, I knew who was doing it.”
“It is very easy to find out because this is a digital world. So first it was projected that I disrespected religion and then their plan was what they did in Wazirabad […] that a religious extremist killed Imran Khan,” he claimed.
“This [the attempted assassination] happened exactly according to the script.”
Khan said he would resume his protest march to Islamabad after recovering from the assassination attempt.
“I will give a call to march on Islamabad once I get better… You all have to come out.”
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