A gunman arrested in connection with Thursday’s attack on former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has explained the reason for the attack.
Khan, 70, was shot in the foot at a political rally at Allahwala Chowk in Gujranwala.
Khan, who was forced out as PM in April, was leading a protest march to the nation’s capital Islamabad to demand snap elections when the attack occurred.
He was rushed out of the scene.
His senior aide, Raoof Hasan told AFP, “This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him.”
In a video posted by NDTV, the alleged attacker said he came to assassinate the former PM.
“Imran Khan is misleading people,” he says.
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi called the shooting “a heinous assassination attempt”.
The president further tweeted, “I thank Allah that he is safe but injured with few bullets in his leg & hopefully non-critical.”
The incident brought back chilling memories of how former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead during a rally in 2007.