The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party has called for nationwide demonstrations on Friday following the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Jan, who was shot on Thursday during a protest, and stressed that mobilizations will continue until «the demands» of its leader, who is demanding early elections, are «met.
«Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country,» Asad Umar, a senior PTI official, said via his account on the social network Twitter. «Until Imran Jan’s demands are met, nationwide protests will continue,» he stressed.
In the same vein, former Information Minister and senior PTI official Fauad Chaudhri said that «the PTI has called for a nationwide strike after Friday prayers» and added that «all Pakistanis should participate in this protest».
Subsequently, the formation has announced that Jan will deliver an address to the nation at 4 p.m. (local time). «Imran Jan will address the nation at 4 p.m.,» the formation has said on Twitter, along with the hashtag #ImranJanIsOurRedLine.
Jan was injured after being shot several times in the leg during an anti-government protest in the southeastern Punjab region, an event that left one dead and seven injured, including senior PTI officials. The suspect was arrested and confessed his responsibility, arguing that the former prime minister «misleads» the population.
Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said after meeting the politician at Shaukat Janum hospital, where he underwent surgery on Thursday, that «his health is much better.» «Let’s see what the doctors recommend to Imran Jan,» he said, as reported by the Pakistani television channel Geo TV.
Preliminary police investigations point to the attacker’s use of a pistol, after officers recovered about 11 shell casings at the scene of the assassination attempt. Police are also investigating several family members who have been arrested, although initial reports suggest that they were unaware of the assassination plans.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has «strongly» condemned the attack on Jan. «We wish him and the other wounded a speedy recovery,» he said in a message on his Twitter account.
«We offer our condolences to the family of the deceased man (in the attack). All parties must maintain a peaceful stance. Violence has no place in politics,» Blinken concluded.
The event took place after Jan called for a «long march» for «real freedom» as part of his struggle with the current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, from whom he is demanding early elections. 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 not having declared the money from the sale of gifts and presents received from international leaders when he was at the head 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.
