Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in shin in 'clear assassination' attempt - Reuters.com

LAHORE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was changeable successful the shin connected Thursday erstwhile his anti-government protest convoy came nether onslaught successful the eastbound of the state successful what his aides said was a wide assassination attempt.

Khan, 70, who was ousted arsenic premier curate successful April, was six days into a miles-long protestation procession, lasting and waving to thousands of cheering supporters from the extortion of a instrumentality motortruck erstwhile shots rang out.

Several others successful his convoy were wounded and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said a fishy had been arrested aft the onslaught successful Wazirabad, astir 200 km (120 miles) from Islamabad.

In purported footage of the shooting, being tally by aggregate channels, a antheral with a handgun is grabbed from down by 1 of the radical astatine the gathering. He past tries to flee.

TV channels showed a antheral they said was a suspected shooter, who looked to beryllium successful his twenties oregon thirties. He said helium wanted to termination Khan and had acted alone.

"He (Khan) was misleading the people, and I couldn't carnivore it," the fishy said successful the video. The accusation curate confirmed the footage was recorded by police.

No 1 has yet been charged with the attack.

Khan had been whipping up ample crowds connected his mode to the superior Islamabad successful a run to topple the authorities of rival Shehbaz Sharif.

One subordinate of Khan's enactment said determination were reports 1 idiosyncratic had been killed successful the attack.

"It was a wide assassination attempt. Khan was deed but he’s stable. There was a batch of bleeding," Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told Reuters.

"If the shooter had not been stopped by radical there, the full PTI enactment would person been wiped out."

He wrote connected Twitter: "It was a well-planned assassination effort connected Imran Khan, the assassin planned to termination Imran Khan and enactment of PTI, it was not 9 MM it was burst from automatic weapon, nary 2 opinions astir that it was constrictive escape."

LONG HISTORY OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Local media showed pictures of Khan waving to the assemblage aft being evacuated from his conveyance pursuing the shooting.

He was taken to infirmary successful Lahore arsenic protesters poured retired connected to streets successful immoderate parts of the state and PTI leaders demanded justice.

Pakistan has a agelong past of governmental violence. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated successful December 2007 successful a weapon and weaponry onslaught aft holding an predetermination rally successful the metropolis of Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad.

Her begetter and erstwhile premier curate Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged successful the aforesaid metropolis successful 1979 aft being deposed by a subject coup.

PTI workfellow Faisal Javed, who was besides wounded and had humor stains connected his clothes, told Geo TV from the hospital: "Several of our colleagues are wounded. We heard that 1 of them is dead."

Prime Minister Sharif condemned the shooting and ordered an contiguous investigation.

Since being ousted done a parliamentary vote, Khan has held rallies crossed Pakistan, stirring absorption against a authorities that is struggling to bring the system retired of the situation that Khan's medication near it in.

Khan had planned to pb the motorised caravan dilatory northwards up the Grand Trunk Road to Islamabad, drafting much enactment on the mode earlier entering the capital.

"I privation that each of you participate. This is not for authorities oregon idiosyncratic gain, oregon to topple the government... this is to bring genuine state to the country," Khan said successful a video connection connected the eve of the march.

Additional reporting by Aftab Ahmed, Sudipto Ganguly and Tanvi Mehta; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie

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