Imran Khan accuses Pakistan's prime minister of failed plot to kill him after he is shot in leg

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a news conference in Shaukat Khanum hospital, where is being treated for a gunshot wound in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Khan's protest march and rallies were peaceful until the afternoon attack on Thursday, when a gunman opened fire at his campaign truck. The shooting has raised concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, a country with a history of political violence and assassinations.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)
Imran Khan accused top political figures without offering any evidence during a news conference in hospital. Credit: AP

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has accused three top figures in the country's political establishment, including his successor, over a failed plot to take his life.

The politician was shot in the leg on Thursday during a rally outside the town of Gujranwala, Punjab province.

He survived the attempt on his life after being rushed to hospital in Lahore, where he went on to make a speech in which he said unnamed agencies were undermining Pakistani democracy.

Without offering any evidence, the cricketer-turned-politician accused current prime minister Shabaz Sharif, interior minister Rana Sanaullah and senior intelligence official Major General Faisal.

In a televised address on Thursday, Mr Sanaullah said the ousted former PM's allegations were “grievous.”

ITV News' Chloe Keedy reports on the shooting

Mr Khan claimed to have known about the plot to kill him one day before it was carried out, adding that “agencies were not letting democracy function in Pakistan”, CNN reports.

He suffered a fracture to his right leg from bullet wounds, and was left with fragments lodged in two sides of his thigh, X-ray scans revealed.

One person was killed after a gunman opened fire on a campaign truck carrying Mr Khan, while a number of his supporters were injured.

The gunman was immediately arrested at the scene, and police later released a video of the unnamed man in custody supposedly confessing to the shooting.

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It is not clear what conditions the alleged shooter was under when he made the statement.

Thursday's attack sparked a number of protests among Mr Khan's supporters on Friday, some of whom were arrested.

Police used batons and fired tear gas to disperse a crowd in the southern port city of Karachi, where Mr Sharif's allies are in power.

Police fire tear gas at Mr Khan's supporters protesting in Rawalpindi. Credit: AP

"We were protesting here peacefully," said protester Dua Zubair. "They started firing. They beat us with batons. They didn't even spare female protesters", she added.

Officers also detained some protesters in the city of Rawlpindi, near Islamabad, but protester Zafran Ahmed remained unperturbed.

"They (the government) think that they will push us back, this is their dream. This nation will not stop," he added.

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