Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was released from hospital yesterday, three days after he was shot in the leg in a failed assassination attempt, a close aide said. The attack, which Khan says was replaced by Shahbaz Sharif, he said has sparked political tension in the country, which has been in turmoil since Khan was ousted from power last April. Former information minister Fuad Chaudhry said he had left the hospital, and local television showed him leaving a clinic in Lahore in a wheelchair and wearing a hospital gown.
Former cricket star Imran Khan became prime minister in 2018 after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the legislative election on a platform that combined social reform, fighting corruption and religious conservatism.
Khan said the protest march towards the capital would resume tomorrow after he was stopped after being injured. Khan spoke from the Shaukat Khanum hospital, sitting in a wheelchair with his right leg raised with bandages. Khan reiterated his demand for an investigation into the shooting and the resignation of three powerful government and military figures allegedly involved in the attack.
Khan said that the march would start again from Wazirabad. His protest march, which began on October 28, was peaceful until Thursday’s attack. He added that the march will take 10 to 15 days to reach Rawalpindi, where columns from other parts of the country are expected to join the march.
Khan said his supporters’ march to the capital demanding early elections, which was disrupted by the attack, would resume on Tuesday, but he would not join in person as he was still recovering from his injury. He said he would keep in touch with the main marchers through the media and eventually lead the Bahr People towards Islamabad.
Khan welcomed the government’s proposal to form a judicial committee to investigate the attack on him. It happened live on social media from a hospital in the eastern city of Lahore, where Khan is receiving treatment after he was shot at a protest rally three days ago. The government announced that it would conduct an investigation into the incident. The shooting has raised concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, which has a history of political violence and assassinations. Analysts believe that the assassination attempt and Khan’s accusations have put Pakistan in a “dangerous stage”. “This is a dangerous situation not only for the democratic process, but also for the country, especially in terms of economic development,” said political scientist Tasif Ahmed Khan, who is also a member of the office of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission.
