A gunman opened fire Thursday at a campaign truck carrying Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, wounding him slightly and killing one of his supporters, his party and police said. Nine others were also wounded. Party official Asad Umar said Khan was wounded in the leg and was not seriously hurt. The identity of the gunman, who was arrested at the scene, was not immediately known. No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting. The attack raised new concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation with a massive population of 225 million people. Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, Khan has been able to mobilize mass rallies across the country, where he has whipped up crowds with claims that he was a victim of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both the new premier and Washington have denied such allegations. Pakistan has a decades-long history of political assassinations, the most high-profile being that of Benazir Bhutto, who was twice prime minister and the first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country. She was killed by a suicide bomber in 2007 at an election rally in Rawalpindi as she was making a bid for a third term. Pakistan’s first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan was shot in 1951, also in Rawalpindi. Ministers, provincial governors, and senior political party leaders have also been assassinated since Pakistan was created in 1947. According to police, Thursday’s attack happened in the Wazirabad district in the eastern Punjab province where Khan was traveling in a large convoy of trucks and cars heading towards the capital, Islamabad, as part of his campaign aimed at forcing the government to hold early elections. Among the wounded was also Faisal Javed, a lawmaker from Tehreek-e-Insaf. In a video statement, with blood staining his clothes, Javed insisted that Khan’s protest march to Islamabad would not stop. District police officer Ghazanfar Ali said one person was killed and nine others were wounded in the attack. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan demanded a report from the police about the incident and condemned the attack. Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader from Khan’s party, told the supporters surrounding Khan’s truck that the attack was an attempt on the life of the country’s former premier. Khan — a former cricket star turned Islamist politician — has refused to back down from his positions. The country’s powerful military has said that although Khan had a democratic right to hold a rally in Islamabad, no one will be allowed to destabilize the country. Authorities in Islamabad have already deployed additional security around the city to deter any clashes or violence. Khan with later seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot, according to reports and a blurry image.


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