Photo: Getty Images
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot after a gunman opened fire at a campaign truck he was traveling in during a protest march over early voting on Thursday (November 3), the Associated Press reports.
Party official Asad Umar confirmed that Khan was wounded in the leg, but wasn't seriously hurt in relation to the shooting. An unspecified number of supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party were also reported to have experienced injuries, including lawmaker Faisal Javed, who insisted the demonstration wouldn't stop, representatives from the party announced.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader for the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, referred to the incident as an attempt on Khan's life while addressing supporters.
A gunman was arrested at the scene, though their identity was not immediately known at the time of the AP's publication and no group claimed responsibility for the incident.
Police said the shooting took place in the Wazirabad district in the eastern Punjab province as Khan was traveling with a large convoy of trucks and cars toward Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city, during his campaign to force the country's government to hold early elections.
The incident was the latest in a growing political instability in the country, with the government and the former prime minister both refusing to back down from their respective stances.
Pakistan's military has argued that although Khan had a democratic right to hold a rally in the capital city, no individual will be permitted to change the country's policies.
Authorities had already sent additional security to Islamabad in an effort to limit any potential clashes or violence prior to the shooting on Thursday.