It was a close shave, but former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is alive to tell the tale. The politico was shot in the shin in what has been described in some quarters as an assassination attempt.
Khan, a former cricketer, was leading a march in the country’s capital when he was shot and wounded. The former prime minister was in his convoy alongside several aides in a rally to demand snap elections when he was hit.
Khan was prime minister of the Islamic state until April when he was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote.
He had led the marches calling for a snap election until he was shot while waving to cheering fans from the roof of an open vehicle. Some of his aides were also injured in the shooting and were taken to the hospital alongside the former PM.
The shooting elicited mostly condemnation worldwide. The United States is among the countries that have condemned the attack so far.
Pakistan has a long history of political upheavals that have led to the assassinations of some of its leaders, from Zia Ul-Haq to Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
It remains to be seen how soon Khan will recover from his injuries.
