United States has condemned the shooting of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and others at a political rally on Thursday.
According to the statement released by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, wished Imran Khan and all others who were injured a quick and thorough recovery, and offered the condolences to the family of the individual who was killed.
Blinken added that violence has no place in politics, while called on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment, and intimidation. “The United States is deeply committed to a democratic and peaceful Pakistan, and we stand with the Pakistani people”, he said.
It was reported that a gunman opened fire at a protest rally in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, slightly wounding former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the leg and killing one of his supporters, his party.
The Police said that nine other people also were hurt as the shooter was immediately arrested, later, Police released a video of him in custody, allegedly confessing to the shooting and saying he acted alone.
It was not clear under what conditions he made his statement. “Only Imran Khan was my target,” said the suspect, identified as Faisal Butt by Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb.
The report stated further that Khan, 70 year-old, underwent surgery at Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, tweeted Omar Ayub Khan, a senior leader of the ex-premier’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Khan was seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot, according to reports and a blurry image from the protest.
The shooting was an “assassination attempt,” party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry told rallygoers afterward in Wazirabad, adding that “it was an attack on the whole of Pakistan,” and vowed that the people would avenge it.
Also, the violence, which follows Khan’s ouster as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April, raised new concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a country with a long history of political violence and assassinations.
Since he lost the vote in Parliament, Khan has mobilized mass rallies across the nuclear-armed nation of 225 million, whipping up crowds with claims that he was a victim of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States allegations that both the premier and Washington deny.