Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Jan was shot and wounded Thursday after a man opened fire during a rally called by his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party against the government, killing at least one person.
Farruj Habib, a senior PTI official, said on his Twitter account that Jan was injured in the shooting in the Wazirabad area, while the newspaper ‘Dawn’ said that Faisal Javed, another senior member of the party, was also among the wounded.
According to the information gathered by the Pakistani television channel Geo TV, the PTI leader has suffered injuries in a leg and has been taken to a hospital. Following this, Omar Ayub Jan, deputy secretary general of the party, said that the former prime minister is undergoing surgery and added that «the doctors will give information after the operation».
Fauad Chaudhri, another senior party official, put the number of wounded at three and denounced a «deliberate attack» on Jan, who was shot «three to four times» in the leg, as detailed by Imran Ismail, also a member of the party led by the former prime minister.
The police said that the attacker has been arrested. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, has subsequently appeared in a video published after his arrest in which he assumes his responsibility and accuses Jan of «deceiving the people».
«He was cheating people and I couldn’t stand it, so (…) I tried to kill him,» he has stressed. «I did my best to kill him. I wanted to kill Jan and nobody else,» he assured, as reported by ‘Dawn’.
UNANIMOUS CONDEMNS Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has «strongly» condemned the incident and called for an «immediate» report on what happened. «The prime minister has directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to ask for an immediate report from the Police and Punjab chief minister,» the Pakistani government said via Twitter.
«I pray for the recovery and health of the PTI leader and the rest of the injured,» it said, while stressing that «the federal government will convey all necessary support to the Punjab government at the security level and to carry out the investigation.» «Violence has no place in the country’s politics,» he stressed.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi joined in the condemnations, denouncing a «heinous assassination attempt against the brave Imran Jan.» «I thank God that he is safe, although wounded by several bullets in his leg, which fortunately are not critical wounds,» he said.
«This attack is shocking, alarming, disgraceful, dishonest and cowardly. May God give health to all the wounded,» Alvi said. The attack has also been «strongly» condemned by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. «I pray for Jan’s speedy recovery,» he said.
Punjab region chief minister Parvez Elahi has stressed that «those responsible for this incident will soon be brought to justice,» before assuring that «the injured should be provided with the best medical care.» «A report has been requested from the Inspector General of Police,» he stressed on his account on the same social network.
The attack has also been condemned by former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has stressed that he «prays for the recovery of the injured». Sharif resides in the United Kingdom after receiving a leave of absence for medical treatment following his conviction in corruption cases that he blames on political persecution by the Jan government.
For its part, the Pakistan Army has indicated that the event is «highly condemnable.» «Sincere prayers for the precious life lost and a speedy recovery and well-being of PTI leader Imran Jan and all those injured in this unfortunate incident,» it said.
PROTESTS CALLED BY JAN Jan himself, who had called for a «long march» for «real freedom,» said Wednesday that the mobilizations could last ten months. «Let the nation choose who governs and brings prosperity,» he argued, in a fresh appeal to Prime Minister Sharif to call early elections.
This is the second march organized by Jan this year. The first was held in late May, but ended once the protesters reached Islamabad’s Red Zone, where the main government buildings are located.
Jan, who in April became the first Pakistani president to be ousted in a no-confidence motion, was disqualified at the end of October by the electoral commission for failing to declare money from the sale of gifts and presents received from international leaders when he was in charge of the government.
His departure from office was followed by a growing political tension marked by scandals of transfugism and massive protests in favor and against the Prime Minister, denounced by the opposition alliance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) as a «puppet» of the Army. The Armed Forces are considered to be the most powerful force in Pakistan since its independence from the British Raj in 1947.
