Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan injured in 'assassination' bid, attacker nabbed

A gunman opened fire at a campaign truck carrying Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, wounding him slightly and also some of his supporters, a senior leader from his party and police said.

Party official Asad Umar said on Thursday Khan was wounded in the leg and was not seriously hurt. 

"This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him," another party leader Raoof Hasan said, adding that one alleged attacker had been shot dead and a second was taken into police custody.

According to police, the attack happened in the Wazirabad district in the eastern Punjab province where Khan was travelling in a large convoy of trucks and cars heading towards the capital, Islamabad, as part of his campaign aimed at forcing the government to hold early elections.

The gunman was immediately arrested at the scene, and police later released a video of him in custody, allegedly confessing to the shooting and saying he acted alone. It was not clear under what conditions he made his statement.

“Only Imran Khan was my target,” said the suspect, identified as Faisal Butt by Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb.

District police officer Ghazanfar Ali said one person was killed and nine others were wounded in the attack.

Khan with later seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot, according to reports and a blurry image. He was moved to another vehicle from his container truck, from where announcements were being made that he was safe.

"He is being taken to a hospital in Lahore, but he is not seriously wounded. A bullet hit him in the keg," Umar told reporters. 

According to the Interior Ministry, the government has ordered a probe into the incident.

READ MORE: Pakistan PM Khan: Won't accept 'imported' government in the country

Protest march to Islamabad

An unspecified number of supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party who were part of the march were also wounded, according to the announcement from the party.

The attack happened less than a week after Khan began his march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, along with thousands of supporters.

Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, Khan has alleged that his ouster was a conspiracy engineered by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States — claims that both the new premier and Washington have denied.

Sharif’s government has also said that there would be no early vote and that the next elections will be held according to schedule, in 2023.

Khan’s latest challenge to the government comes after Pakistan’s elections commission disqualified him from holding public office for five years for allegedly selling state gifts unlawfully and concealing assets as premier.

Khan, who has challenged the disqualification in a pending court case, has said he would sue Chief Election Commissioner Sikandara Raja, who was behind the decision, for calling him a “dishonest person.”

It was also not immediately known if Khan's convoy would proceed on to Islamabad.

Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in Khan’s party, said they plan to enter Islamabad on Friday.

READ MORE: Pakistan's election authority disqualifies ex-PM Imran Khan