PTI resumes long march after gun attack on ex-PM Imran
Imran Khan addresses the media representatives at a hospital in Lahore, a day after an assassination attempt on him. AFP
Pakistani former prime minister Imran Khan told supporters via video-link on Thursday they should keep up an anti-government march, a week after he suffered wounds in a gun attack, and he dismissed a police report that a lone shooter tried to kill him.
The 70-year-old former cricket hero was wounded last Thursday in the shooting at a rally, part of a rolling march that he has led to press for a general election, since he was ousted in a parliament vote in April.
Heavy police contingents were deployed for the security of the marchers, police official Ghulam Nabi said.
"Our march wouldn't stop," Imran said, adding the protest will instead gather strength as it closes on the capital Islamabad.
Imran has been leading public rallies to demand snap polls since his ouster by a joint opposition.
Imran said nothing could deter him from going ahead as long as the snap polls were not called, adding that he would join the protest march in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad, in some days. "I will not back off as long as I'm alive," he said.
His successor Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has rejected the demand, saying the election will be held as scheduled later next year.
He also said it was a miracle that so many people survived the attack. Doubling down on earlier claims, he held a senior military officer, Shahbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah responsible for the attack and said they had used religious extremism as a cover to shunt off the blame.
"For anyone harboring any doubts,” Imran added, "you can tell that he had been told to say this when the attacker claimed he had done this alone. The forensic report of the container has shown that there were two types of bullet, meaning there were two shooters, so the whole plan they had was that just like (slain Punjab governor) Salman Taseer was killed by a religious extremist and the matter is sorted.”
A police report released last week said a man identified as Mohammad Naveed acted alone when he took out a pistol and started shooting while Khan waved at his supporters at the event last week.
In the video address, Imran rejected the police version. He said at least two people executed what he said was a well-planned attack. He did not provide evidence to back up his claim, but pointed to occasions when he spoke at his public rallies in September about a suspected plot.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said the shooter was a "self motivated and committed person" who carried out the attack on religious basis.
The former prime minister also hailed Ibtesam — the young man whose quick thinking had saved the former prime minister — for his "heroic effort.” He announced again that the party will take lifetime responsibility for the children of the victim (Moazzam) who lost his life during the attack.
"Our march will not end,” he said as he reiterated his commitment to the establishment of justice.
Continuing his criticism, the PTI chief said that the senior military officer was behind "what they have done to us, to the journalists, and what they did to [journalist] Arshad Sharif and what they did to [PTI senator] Azam Swati.”
"I am the former primer prime minister, the chief of the largest party of Pakistan and I have not been able to register my FIR because the military officer's name was mentioned. He is such a man who is above Pakistani law. DG ISPR says ‘it’ll be a disrespect to our military’; the military will be disrespected when it fails to take action on the matter.”
Earlier, PTI supporters gathered at the site where Imran was attacked in Wazirabad. The march was kicked off by PTI leader and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He was flanked by other party leaders including Hammad Azhar, Faisal Javed, also among those injured in the attack on Imran, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry among others. The party had halted its march following the assassination attempt.
