He was shot in the leg during a political rally

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan survives an assassination attempt

Imran Khan was taken to hospital but is in stable condition.

AFP

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the foot during a political rally yesterday, but he is in stable condition, an aide said.

Rauf Hassan, a top aide to Khan, told AFP that Khan was wounded when the crowd fired near the city of Gujranwala.

"His condition is stable, and this was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him," noting that one of the attackers was killed.

"The police arrested another man," Raouf Hassan said, without being able to specify how the attacker was killed.

Others, including one of the party's leaders, Faisal Javid, were wounded in the shooting.

A member of the Insaf Movement said that a number of his colleagues were also injured, amid reports that one of them had been killed.

"A man opened fire with an automatic weapon, and several people were injured," Assad Omar told Reuters.

Imran Khan was also injured.” Khan was taken to hospital.

The party's spokesman, Fuad Chaudhry, said a bullet hit Khan's leg.

"Imran Khan and his party colleague Faisal Javed were wounded by bullets," he told Reuters.

"Many of our colleagues were injured, and we heard that one of them died," Javid, whose clothes were stained with blood, told Geo TV from the hospital.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the shooting incident and ordered the Interior Minister to open an investigation immediately.

The attack took place in Wazirabad, 200 km from the capital, Islamabad.

Khan has been leading a march since last Friday, from the city of Lahore to Islamabad, as part of a campaign to demand new elections. During what he called a "long march", Khan delivers speeches from an open container to crowds in cities and towns on his way to the capital.

"I want to join you all," Khan said in a video message on the eve of the rally.

This is not for politics or personal gain or to overthrow the government... It is to bring real freedom to the country.”

Khan had won a new legislative by-election at the end of last week.

Since his ouster in April on a motion of no-confidence, the former cricket champion has called for elections immediately, but the government prefers to wait until the October 2023 deadline, to give itself time to get the economy back on track.

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