Imran Khan names 3 suspects including Pak PM behind attack

Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan on Thursday alleged that the current prime minister, interior minister and an army general plotted the failed "assassination attempt" on him, his close aide said in a video statement.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah rejected Khan's allegations, saying the federal government was ready to provide every kind of support in the investigation.

Khan, 70, sustained bullet injury on his leg when a gunman opened fire on the container-mounted-truck carrying him during his protest march, killing one person. The former prime minister was out of danger.

In a statement, the Punjab police said that seven people were injured and one person was killed during the attack. It added that a suspect has been arrested.

Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Umar in a video statement said that party chairman Khan has named three suspects who could be behind Thursday's attack.

"Imran Khan called us and told us to convey this message to the nation on his behalf...He said that he believes three people -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Sanaullah and Major General Faisal (Naseer) -- were involved in the attack on him," Umar said.

He said they should be immediately removed from their current positions.

Khan has warned that "a protest will be held across the country" if the individuals accused by him were not removed from their offices, Umar added.

Interior Minister Sanaullah condemned the attack on Khan.

Addressing a press conference, Sanaullah rejected the allegations made by Khan and said not only Prime Minister Sharif but also PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and other leaders have condemned this attack and this kind of thinking.

He said that the federal government was ready to provide every kind of support for the investigation of this attack and also demanded that the Punjab government should set up a joint investigation team of senior officers to probe the incident.

Meanwhile, former assistant to the prime minister on health Dr Faisal Sultan said that Khan's condition is stable.

"But according to X-rays and scans, there are fragments of bullets in his legs and there's a chip in his tibia shin bone," he told media persons outside the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore.

Sheikh Rashid, former interior minister and Khan's close aide, has blamed the Shehbaz administration for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to kill the former premier.

"The federal government hatched a conspiracy to kill Imran Khan. Hired assassin (federal Interior minister) Rana Sanaullah and the federal government has brought the country at the brink of civil war. It can't stand before the sea of people as it has to go home," Rashid said.

He also announced protest against the assassination attempt on the life of Khan on Friday in Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said that the attack on Khan must be unequivocally condemned. "All political parties have the right to hold peaceful assemblies and to expect security from the state when doing so."