Imran Khan: Former Pakistan cricketer and Prime Minister shot in leg in apparent assassination attempt | Cricket News

Former Pakistan cricketer and Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shot in the leg in what his supporters say was an assassination attempt.

A gunman reportedly opened fire while Khan was giving a speech to supporters at a rally in Wazirabad.

Sky News’ Cordelia Lynch was at the scene and said a Sky News producer was standing near the cricketer-turned-politican soon after he emerged from his container after the shooting.

Khan was rushed away from the scene, and his supporters said he survived the attempt on his life.

Pakistan’s former captain has been calling for new elections after he was ousted as Prime Minister in April. He has been delivering speeches at gatherings across Pakistan.

He was six days into the march from Lahore to Islamabad in his drive to bring early elections when the shooting took place.

A large crowd had gathered to hear him speak, and Lynch said she interviewed him at the scene about threats of violence.

He described the march as a “peaceful” protest – when there was a “sudden commotion”.

“The injured were taken into an ambulance… a lot of panic… people rushing. No one could quite work out what was happening,” said Lynch.

“Then Imran Khan emerged. He had been shot, I understand, in the left leg. In fact, our producer here, Mohammed, was able to see that. He was very close to Imran Khan as he emerged.

“He was taken away… a doctor, who was close by, treated three patients. This was the worst-case scenario – what so many people were concerned about was that this peaceful protest had the potential to turn violent.”

Khan taken to Lahore for treatment

According to Lynch, she said she was sat with Khan inside the container when they heard screams before they were told to get off the container immediately.

“There was concern the shooter was still on board. But at that stage, it was so unclear if there were threats outside. We didn’t hear any gunfire. At that stage, it was not known if people had been stabbed or shot,” she said.

When they went outside, Lynch said they heard some people in the “panicked” crowd shouting, “Imran Khan is dead”, while armed police and emergency services moved in.

She added that Khan had been taken to a hospital in Lahore for treatment to a gunshot wound to the leg, while Faisal Javed, the leader of political party PTI was also among the injured.