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PoliticsPakistan

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan leaves hospital after attack

November 6, 2022

The former prime minister had been shot at a protest march demanding the government call elections. Khan said the march would continue on Tuesday.

https://p.dw.com/p/4J85t
PTI supporters in front of a banner showing Imran Khan
Imran Khan said that his party's protest march would continue on TuesdayImage: K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo/picture alliance

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was discharged from hospital on Sunday after being shot at a protest march in an apparent assassination attempt.

Khan, who sustained a gunshot wound to his right leg, said that the suspended march would continue on Tuesday.

Local media showed images of Imran Khan being taken out of hospital in a wheelchair with bandages on his leg.

There were conflicting reports on the number of bullets that hit Khan and how long it would take to achieve full recovery.

How was Imran Khan injured?

The former cricket star and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Party (PTI) was leading a rally in the city of Wazirabad in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab.

One PTI supporter was killed in the shooting, and 13 others were injured.

PTI supporters had planned to march on the capital Islamabad in a bid to pressure Pakistan's coalition government to call snap elections.

Khan blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a top general from the Pakistan's intelligence agency (ISI) for the attack and called for them to resign. He offered no evidence for the allegations.

Following the attack, police arrested a suspect that had confessed to the shooting and attempting to kill Khan.

Who is Imran Khan?

Imran Khan's PTI came to power following the 2018 general election, amid allegations from his opponents that results had been manipulated by Pakistan's military establishment.

Khan was removed by a no confidence vote in April, which he blamed on a foreign-funded conspiracy.

PTI members held an initial protest march in May following Khan's ouster, but it ended when protesters clashed with police in Islamabad.

The former prime minister attempted to prevent his ouster by dissolving Pakistan's parliament, a move which the country's Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. Khan grappled with further legal challenges later this year, including terrorism charges which have since been dropped, as well as money laundering charges.

sdi/rs (dpa, AP)