In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, former Prime Minister Imran Khan named two of the three people he has alleged are behind the attack on him, however he surprisingly did not name the third person.
Talking to Anderson, the Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that three bullets were removed from his right leg while some shrapnel was left inside his left leg and that it would take him “four to six weeks” to resume his activities after the assassination attempt in Wazirabad.
Khan also said that there were two shooters and hinted at the possibility of a third gunman. “There was this guy who fired the first volley … then there was another volley [that] came in over our heads because we were falling,” he added, terming the attack a “planned assassination attempt”.
He also alleged that a cover-up of the incident was underway, saying that is why he had called for an independent investigation and for three people to resign — who Khan claims are responsible for the attack. Khan then named Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and mentioned a senior intelligence official but surprisingly did not name him during the interview.
When asked about the source of his pre-emptive information about the attack, Khan referred to his term in power and said he had “connections with intelligence agencies.”
“How did I get the information? From within the intelligence agencies. Why? Because most people are appalled by what is going on in this country. What is happening in Pakistan is unprecedented,” he told CNN, adding that if his allegations were wrong, then an inquiry would prove them wrong. He questioned that he could, as the intended target of the attack, “not name the people I’m suspicious of planning this attempt on me.”
The former Premier also alleged that two months ago, an agency produced a video that accused him of blasphemy. He stressed that his opponents had “picked up and ran with” the video while he had said right then at the time that it was a “planned thing”.
