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Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Alamy Stock Photo

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan in stable condition after 'assassination attempt'

He was shot in the foot today at a political rally.

FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME Minister Imran Khan is in stable condition after being shot in the foot today at a political rally in what the country’s president deemed “a heinous assassination attempt”.

Khan has been leading a march since Friday from the city of Lahore towards the capital, Islamabad, campaigning for fresh elections after being ousted from office in April.

Khan was wounded when shots were fired from the crowd near Gujranwala, his senior aide, Raoof Hasan, told AFP.

“This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him,” Hasan said, adding that one alleged attacker had been shot dead and a second taken into police custody.

In a tweet, Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi also called it “a heinous assassination attempt”.

“I thank Allah that he is safe but injured with few bullets in his leg & hopefully non-critical,” he tweeted.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist militants for decades, and politicians are frequently targeted by assassination attempts.

In 2007 the nation’s first female leader Benazir Bhutto was slain in a suicide attack which still remains unsolved.

Each day during his so-called “long march” 70 year-old Khan has mounted a shipping container towed by a lorry, making speeches from the open top to crowds of thousands in cities and towns along the way.

‘Die for the country’ 

The former international cricket star was booted from office in April by a no-confidence vote after defections by some of his coalition partners, but he retains mass public support in the South Asian country.

Khan was voted into power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform by an electorate tired of dynastic politics.

But his mishandling of the economy – and falling out with a military accused of helping his rise – sealed his fate.

Since then, he has railed against the establishment and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, which he says was imposed on Pakistan by a “conspiracy” involving the United States.

Khan has repeatedly told supporters he was prepared to die for the country, and aides have long warned of unspecified threats made on his life.

 © AFP 2022 

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    Mute Anthony Whelan
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    Jun 16th 2011, 2:10 PM

    Which bill makes us all responsible for other people’s debts? Which bill allows them to steal my pension?

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    Mute Mad Gerald
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    Jun 16th 2011, 12:51 PM

    More window dressing,sort out the debt problem and let us see what we can then afford.Muppets.

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    Mute Robert Scally
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    Jun 16th 2011, 4:35 PM

    if they are getting 100,000 or whatever obscene amount every year, why do they get a big long summer holiday? Only 15 days of the Dail left before summer break. Ireland is in hard times and a serious amount of work is needed to get us back to glory and they still keep their summer recess.

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    Mute Eoin Sheehy
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    Jun 16th 2011, 4:45 PM

    Ironic that they said in opposition that they should have 3 weeks break last year as the finances were in too bad a state, now that they’re in Government the finances are worse than last June, yet they have just as long a holiday.

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    Mute Yer auld one
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    Jun 17th 2011, 12:23 AM

    Re the pic above:
    Pat to Enda – “did u smell the bogies at the back of the bus?”
    Joan “theres some bird stalking me”!
    Brendan “seriously Leo, my da would kill your da because he’s this big”!
    Leo “I am king of the universe, show me excaliber!”

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    Mute Mick Nugent
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    Jun 17th 2011, 1:33 AM

    Is Leo tall or is it Brendan who is small?

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