Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan says three bullets were removed from his right leg in the shooting that wounded him last week.
Khan survived being shot at a political rally in Gujranwala on Thursday, an incident his party has labeled an assassination attempt.
In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on Monday, Khan said: “They took three bullets out of my right leg. The leftists had some shrapnel that they left in.”
Khan said his bone is damaged and his leg is in a cast, adding that it will take four to six weeks to resume normal activity.
Speaking from his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park, Khan said he had information from intelligence agencies that the shooting that injured him last week would take place.
When asked by Anderson on Monday what information he had been given about the incident and by whom, Kahn said: “Remember, I’ve been in power for three and a half years. I have connections with the intelligence services, the various services that work. How did I get the information? Through the intelligence services. Why; Because most people are horrified by what is happening in this country.”
Last week, Pakistan’s intelligence agency said it had communicated “the threat” to Khan before the gathering. “The organization had already alerted the federal government about the threat to the former chief minister, who had communicated it to the provincial government of Punjab,” the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) said in a statement.
The ISI also said that Khan’s security was under the authority of the Punjab provincial government, which is led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Last Friday, Khan accused establishment figures of a conspiracy to kill him – a claim strongly denied by government and security officials.
“As events unfolded, they are in this speech. How could this happen, how in the name of blasphemy would a religious fanatic kill me and blame it on him. That’s all in my speech that I put on TV — it’s on social media,” he said, referring to a speech he gave on Sept. 24 in which he said he outlined how the events of the shooting would play out.
When asked about suggestions by his critics that accusing the current government of carrying out the attack would help Khan return to power, he replied that “there is no need to blame this government to return to power,” adding that the his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has remained popular since his ouster in April.
“They tried everything to get me out of the way. When that didn’t happen, that was planned,” he added.
One person was killed in Thursday’s attack that injured several others, while Khan was taken to a hospital in Lahore for treatment after the shooting. Speaking from the hospital on Friday and without offering details, Khan blamed Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal, who is a senior intelligence official. CNN has reached out to the three men for comment.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting last week denied Khan’s allegations against Sharif and Sanaullah at a press conference.
Pakistan’s military also hit back at Khan’s claims, calling them “baseless and irresponsible” and “absolutely unacceptable and unacceptable”. In a statement on Friday evening, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) called Khan’s allegations against the army and military officials “very regrettable and strongly condemned”.
“The Pakistan Army prides itself on being a highly professional and well-disciplined organization with a strong and highly effective system of internal accountability applied across the board for illegal acts, if any, committed by personnel in uniform,” the statement said.
“However, if the honor, safety and prestige of its rank and file is tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealously protect its officers and men no matter what,” he continued.
CNN reported earlier Monday that Khan wrote a letter to Pakistani President Arif Alvi saying that since Khan’s government was ousted from power in April, his party had faced “an ever-increasing amount of false allegations, harassment, arrests and torture in prisons ».
The letter, obtained by CNN from a source close to the former prime minister, is dated Nov. 6, three days after Khan survived the shooting.
