Pakistan: Imran Khan vows to continue protest march after assassination attempt
Former Pakistan premier Imran Khan, who survived an assassination attempt on his life on Thursday, is stable and determined to continue his political march to press the government to call for an early election, his party said on Friday.
Khan, 70, was hit by a bullet injury in the right leg after a gun-wielding man aimed a volley of bullets at him and others while they were standing on a container-mounted truck in the Wazirabad area of Punjab province during the so-called "long march".
“I will not bow down, but stay determined to bring Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom) for my fellow Pakistanis,” the party's official Twitter handle quoted Khan as saying, adding that the march would resume from Wazirabad at 11 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Friday.
Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, announced a nationwide protest organized on Friday amid heightened tensions in the South Asian country after the assassination attempt on the populist cricketer-turned-politician.
"Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country, which will continue until Imran Khan's demand is met," Asad Umar, a close Khan aide, said on Twitter.
The former international cricket star has been leading the convoy of thousands since last week, which began from Lahore on October 28 and aimed to reach the capital Islamabad on November 4 to hold a rally for forcing the government to announce fresh elections.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader from Khan's party, said it was “a planned assassination attempt on Imran Khan and he escaped narrowly.”
SS
