Sardar Muhammad Khan Bunglani shot dead near Bolan
GHRTV Reporter
Yiqing Chen
Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan has survived a shooting at a political rally on Thursday that his party called an assassination attempt, which killed one person and injured several others and prompted protests among Khan’s supporters (Saifi, 2022). A day after a bullet wounded former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan while he was leading “a long march” to the capital, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced country-wide protests on Friday afternoon (Hussain, 2022). The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022 (Noor 2018). The PTI is one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML–N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and it is the largest party in terms of representation in the National Assembly of Pakistan since the 2018 general election (Noor 2018).
Law enforcement agencies across the country have decided to launch a crackdown against PTI leaders and workers as they prepare to resume their long march from Wazirabad and head towards the federal capital to record their protest while allegedly spreading anarchy (Staff report 2022). The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party continues to hold protests in various cities as of Nov. 7 to denounce a Nov. 3 gun attack on PTI leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Wazirabad (Staff report 2022). The demonstrations have caused sporadic violence and temporary localized transport disruptions in cities, mainly in Punjab Province. Khan has also announced the PTI's long march from various cities toward Islamabad involving several convoys as part of its Haqeeqi Azadi movement demanding early elections will resume Nov. 8 (Staff report 2022).
According to the sources, the law enforcement agencies have decided to arrest some of the PTI leaders (Staff report 2022). The police spokesperson stated that those political leaders who are nominated in various cases will be arrested once identified. Besides the arrests, the agencies have also planned to block roads to and from the Islamabad International Airport. In addition, the Islamabad Police have also warned the other protesters that action will be taken against those who protest violently in the federal capital without due permission of the city’s administration (Staff report 2022).
Sources and further reading:
Hussain, A. (2022, November 4). Protest calls in Pakistan after ex-PM Imran Khan shot in shin. Aljazeera. Retrieved November 7.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/pakistans
Saifi, S. Mogul, R. (2022, November 4). Former Prime Minister Imran Khan shot in lower leg in reported assassination attempt in Pakistan. CNN. Retrieved November 7.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/03/asia/imran-khan-pakistan-rally-intl/index.html
Noor, A. (2018, July 21). The Pathan Suits: Can Imran Khan Lay A New Path For Pakistan’s Fractured Polity?. Outlook India. Retrieved November 7.
Staff Report. (2022, November 7). PTI leaders warned of action if they block roads in protest. Pakistan Today. Retrieved November 7.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/11/07/pti-leaders-warned-of-action-if-they-block-roads-in-protest/
