After former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan got injured in an attack during his rally in Wazirabad city, his party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – termed the attack on him as an “assassination attempt” on their party chairman.
Imran Khan sustained injuries on his leg after a bullet hit him, while 15 others were left injured in the attack on his Pakistan rally. Khan was immediately rushed to the hospital after the assassination attempt, where his condition was revealed as stable.
Many are comparing Imran Khan’s assassination attempt to the history of attacks on prominent political leaders in the country, including Benazir Bhutto. Imran Khan had first warned of an assassination attempt on him back in March, a few days before his ouster as PM. Since then, there have been several red flags.
.
In the late 1970s, in the final days of his government, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had waved a letter before journalists in Rawalpindi, accusing then US Secretary of State Cyrus Roberts Vance of threatening him.
Almost 50 years later, Imran Khan did the same. But while Bhutto was hanged by the Pakistani establishment, Khan has so far survived. PTI also posted a video of Khan waving to his supporters as he got escorted out of the rally.
According to media reports, Imran Khan had predicted his assassination attempt multiple times in the past, especially after he was removed from the Prime Minister post in Pakistan. Most recently, Khan had made a claim that people were conspiring to kill him in October.
Earlier in October, Imran Khan had said that four people in Pakistan are conspiring to kill him over blasphemy charges, and he will be revealing the names of these people if anything untoward or danger happens to him.
Media outlets had quoted Khan as saying, “What was the game behind this [allegation]...Four individuals sitting behind closed doors decided to get me killed over blasphemy allegations. If I get killed then they will say a religious fanatic killed him [Imran] because he had committed blasphemy. The nation will not forgive these conspirators.”
Khan’s injury has been reported as not critical in the assassination attempt, while one person has been killed in the Wazirabad rally.
READ | Firing at Imran Khan’s rally live updates: Former Pakistan PM among 5 injured; attacker arrested
