Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan vows to fight on in first rally since assassination attempt
- ‘I have seen death from up close,’ said Khan, who hobbled to the stage with a walking frame. ‘I will fight for this country until my last drop of blood’
- The shooting was the latest twist in months of political turmoil; Khan blames opposition for what he believes was an attempted assassination
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan told tens of thousands of supporters on Saturday he would fight with his “last drop of blood” in a first public address since being shot in an assassination attempt earlier this month.
The shooting was the latest twist in months of political turmoil that began in April when Khan was ousted by a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Saturday’s rally was the climax of a so-called long march by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to press the government to call a snap election before parliament’s term expires in October next year.
“I have seen death from up close,” said Khan, who hobbled to the stage with a walking frame to speak to supporters from a plush seat behind a panel of bulletproof glass.
“I’m more worried about the freedom of Pakistan than my life,” he told the crowd. “I will fight for this country until my last drop of blood.”
The rally was squeezed on to a motorway in Rawalpindi, a garrison city neighbouring the capital Islamabad and home to the headquarters of the country’s powerful military.