Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the foot Thursday at a political rally but is in a stable condition, a senior aide said.
Khan was wounded when shots were fired from the crowd near the city of Gujranwala, his senior aide, Raoof Hasan, told AFP.
“This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him,” Hasan said, adding that one alleged attacker had been shot dead and a second taken into police custody.
Khan has been leading a march since last Friday from the city of Lahore towards the capital Islamabad, campaigning for fresh elections after he was ousted from office this spring.
Each day during his so-called “long march” 70 year-old Khan has mounted a shipping container towed by a lorry, making speeches from the open top to crowds of thousands in cities and towns along the way.
It is unclear whether the politician was deliberately targeted as one of his senior aides claimed, or if he was hit by indiscriminate gunfire.
Members of his PTI party said another four people were hurt in the shooting.
Mr Khan, 70, was leading the march on the capital Islamabad to demand snap elections after he was ousted in April.
The former prime minister was seen being taken to a hospital in Lahore. A party spokesman said he had been hit in the shin.
Another party leader, provincial health minister Yasmeen Rashid, said Mr Khan was in a stable condition.
An unnamed male suspect was later arrested, according to Pakistan's Geo TV.
Footage from the scene shows a conscious Imran Khan with a bandage on his right leg being taken away in a vehicle after the shooting.
One video shows a PTI member with a bandage on his face and blood on his clothing, saying that people should pray for Mr Khan and all those injured.
Current Prime Minister Shehbaz. Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the shooting and ordered an immediate investigation.
Mr Khan has been leading a protest march - the second such rally this year - for the past seven days, calling for new elections.
The government has repeatedly said it will hold elections next year, as planned.
Last month, Pakistan's election commission disqualified Mr Khan from holding public office in a case described by the former star cricketer as politically motived.
He had been accused of incorrectly declaring details of gifts from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale. The gifts included Rolex watches, a ring and a pair of cuff links.
Pakistan has a long history of deadly political violence.
In the most high-profile case, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a public rally in 2007.
At least one person was killed in the incident, according to Faisal Javed, a senior PTI politician and close Khan ally who received a wound to the head in the attack. The victim’s name has not been released.
In a video statement Javed, who can be seen sitting up while receiving treatment, said: “Please pray for us, for Imran Khan, pray for our fellow workers who are severely injured and pray for our party member who has died and is martyred.”
At least two other people were injured by gunfire.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who came to power after Khan lost a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April, condemned Thursday’s attack on his political rival on Twitter.
“I condemn the incident of firing on PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the strongest words,” Sharif wrote, adding that he has asked for an “immediate report on the incident” and will pray for the recovery of those injured.
“Violence should have no place in our country’s politics,” Sharif wrote.
On October 21, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recommended that Khan be disqualified from holding political office for five years, a move likely to further inflame political tensions in the country.
While reading out the recommendation, ECP chief Sikandar Sultan Raja stated that Khan was disqualified for being involved in “corrupt practices.”
The commission said its decision was based on the grounds that Khan had “made false statements” regarding the declaration of the sale of gifts sent to him by the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Dubai while in office – an offense that is illegal under the country’s constitution.
Khan was unseated in a vote of no-confidence following claims of bad governance and economic mismanagement.
Since then he has repeatedly claimed, without providing any evidence, that the United States had orchestrated his ouster. Khan’s allegations have become a staple at rallies he has held across Pakistan in a bid to return to power.
His claims have struck a chord with a young population in a country where anti-American sentiment runs high, and anti-establishment feelings are being fueled by a rising cost of living crisis.
This is not the first time that Pakistani politicians have been attacked.
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, and then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani survived an assassination attempt in 2008.
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