Islamabad: In a speech from a hospital, Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan vowed to take to the streets as soon as he recovered from bullet injuries after he survived the assassination attempt.
“As soon as I am better, I will go out on the streets again. I will again give a call for Islamabad [for protest march],” said Khan, seen wearing a blue hospital gown with both legs plastered.
Khan called on the people to take part in his protest and to demand the resignation of the three people he held responsible for the alleged plot to kill him saying that a fair investigation was not possible until they resign.
Premature claims
Commenting on the speech, a security official termed Imran Khan’s claims as “unfounded” and “premature conclusion” before the investigation was completed. The official added that national leaders “should act responsibly” while criticising personalities. He said that top politicians are usually the prime targets of attackers and they should “take maximum security measures, especially after security threat alerts issued by provincial government.”
In his address to the nation from Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, Khan called for rule of law in the country, the supremacy of the judiciary and the immediate restoration of the democratic right of fair and free elections. He expressed regret that the head of the country’s largest political party “failed to get justice.” He said that the country’s chief justice has a “huge responsibility” in implementing rule of law and that the top judge should have taken notice of Senator Swati’s claims of torture and humiliation.
Khan also urged Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to act urgently now and “take action against black sheep” to prevent the country from heading down the path of destruction.
He claimed there are two ways forward for Pakistan and change would either come through “peaceful revolution or bloody struggle.”
Account of assassination attempt
Detailing the account of the assassination attempt in Wazirabad on November 3 during the protest rally, Khan said that he was on the container when he “heard a burst of shots” directed at him and two bullets hit his leg after which he fell down.
He said it was a synchronized attack. “There were two shooters, one on my side and one at the front.” Khan said since he fell down on the container, the shooter might have thought “I had died and fled.”
Imran Khan paid tribute to “two heroes” who saved many lives at the rally. “Moazzam who was martyred and Ibtisam who acted courageously” and tackled one of the attackers. At least 11 people were injured during the attack.
Khan’s supporters hold nationwide protests
Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan staged nationwide protests on Friday, a day after he survived an assassination attempt.
The protesters blocked key roads in major cities and demanded “a free and fair investigation” into the attack and early elections. “Arrest the people who carried out the attack on Imran Khan. What’s wrong with Khan’s demand? He is only asking for free and fair elections so hold elections and let the people decide” Kamran Ahmed, said a protestor in Rawalpindi.
Clashes broke out on Friday between Khan’s supporters and the police. Videos on social media showed Islamabad police using tear gas to disperse protesters who had blocked roads and set tires on fire near Faizabad Interchange which links Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The protesters resorted to stone-pelting following the clash with police. Islamabad Police and paramilitary force Frontier Constabulary (FC) have arrested several PTI workers in Islamabad, according to local media. A group of protesters gathered outside the Governor House in Lahore and chanted slogans against the federal administration. Protesters also blocked roads in the north-western city of Peshawar and Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi.
