Cricket legend and former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan shot in alleged assassination attempt
Imran Khan has been shot and wounded in an alleged assassination attempt.
The cricket legend and former Pakistan prime minister was attending a political rally in Wazirabad when a gunman reportedly opened fire at people in an open-top vehicle.
According to Newscorp, at least four others were wounded and one person has been confirmed as dead.
Scary footage emerged of the incident and you clearly see a gunman taking aim at their selected targets – 70-year-old Khan being one of them.
More videos then surfaced online showing panicking people running from the scene, while others attended to the injured.
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In one clip, Khan can be seen being carried away by onlookers before being rushed to a local hospital.
It's understood Khan, who retired from cricket back in early 90s, was shot in his shin and is expected to make a full recovery.
WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE BELOW.
“He is in a stable condition,” Khan's senior aide Raoof Hasan told AFP.
“This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him.”
As for the gunman, he was apprehended on the scene and subsequently arrested.
“(Khan) was misleading the people, and I couldn’t bear it so I attempted to kill him,” the man reportedly said.
“I tried my best to kill him. I wanted to kill Imran Khan only and no one else”
In new footage posted by Al Jazeera, one brave member of the public appears to wrestle the gunman in a bid to stop the shooting spree.
“He loaded the magazine and was preparing to fire. I approached him when he shot one bullet in the air,” local hero Ibtisam told the media.
“I pulled at him, which caused his aim to go awry. He then tried to run away, but people went after him and we managed to stop him.”
When news broke of the attack, fans and politicians alike flocked to social media to have their say.
Pakistani president Arif Alvi spoke on the incident, calling it a “heinous assassination attempt”.
Khan is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers Pakistan has ever produced.
He played 88 Tests and 175 ODIs between 1971 and 1992 before going on to become his country's prime minister from 2018 until 2022.
Max Sherry