‘They Want to Kill Me…I Will Fight Back…’, Imran Khan Says After Assassination Bid
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, who survived an assassination attempt during his protest march in Wazirabad on Thursday evening, said he would fight back. Speaking to his close aides moments after being shot, Khan said, “Allah has given me another life.”
In exclusive information sourced by CNN-News18, Khan said, “I know they want to kill me but they don’t know Allah is protecting me. I will fight back.”
Khan, who took three bullets in his both legs, is out of danger and recuperating at Lahore’s Shoukat Khanum Hospital, sources said. A medical board has been formed under the supervision of Dr Faisal Sultan, former health minister in Imran Khan’s Cabinet, to supervise his treatment. Doctors have advised complete bed rest for Khan for the next three weeks.
Police said the firing at the rally has left at least 15 people injured and one dead.
The assassination attempt comes less than a week after Khan began his protest march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, along with thousands of supporters, demanding early elections. The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023 and fresh elections should be held within 60 days.
Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April this year, Khan has alleged that his ouster was a conspiracy engineered by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States — charges that were dismissed by both the new premier and Washington.
‘PM Shehbaz Sharif among Three Who Planned Attack’
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Asad Umar said that party chief Khan suspects that the top brass of the government is behind the attack.
Umar said in a video message that Khan believes PM Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a senior military officer orchestrated the attempt to kill him. “Khan has said that he had the information beforehand that these people might be involved in the assassination attempt on him,” Umar said.
Quoting the PTI chairman, Umar demanded that all three people — the PM, the interior minister, and the senior military officer — should be shunted out.
PM Sharif has, meanwhile, strongly condemned the attack on Khan, saying that the federal government will extend all support necessary to the Punjab government for security and investigation
“I condemn the incident of firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the strongest words. I have directed Interior Minister for an immediate report on the incident. I pray for the recovery and health of PTI chairman and other injured people,” he tweeted.
