I knew a plan was in place to attack me, Imran Khan reveals as he speaks after assassination attack

PTI Chairman Imran Khan Friday revealed that he already knew about the looming danger as he broke the silence a day after being shot during an "assassination attempt."

Addressing the PTI supporters from Shaukat Khanum Hospital  — where he is receiving treatment for his injuries — Khan said: "I had already learned that there was a plan in place to kill me somewhere between Wazirabad and Gujrat."

Khan was shot in the leg in an attempted assassination on Thursday afternoon. He was taken to a hospital in Lahore and has undergone surgery, but doctors say his condition is stable.

At the outset of the presser, Khan asked PTI stalwart, Dr Faisal Sultan, to brief the masses about his health condition while revealing that he was hit by four bullets.

Dr Sultan displayed Khan's X-ray reports on a screen and highlighted the details of the injuries that the party chief sustained — including a fracture — among other injuries.

Following the detailed presentation, Khan revealed that he had learned about the looming danger beforehand.

'Already filmed a video to reveal names'

Providing details of how "they" [government leaders and others] planned to assassinate him, Khan said, "they used similar methods they tried using against [former Punjab governor] Salman Taseer".

"They tried to accuse me of blasphemy to turn the public against me," he said, adding that his party was not created under the patronage of any military establishment and he came to power after 22 years of struggle.

He reiterated his previous statement and said that four people were planning to assassinate him, so he had filmed a video to reveal the names of those people.

"The tape, which includes the names of four people, will be released if something happens to me," the former prime minister had said in October while addressing a jalsa in Mianwali.

"I have been in the government for three and a half years, I know everyone in the institutions and agencies."

Khan further said that now, three people — including Rana Sanaullah, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and a major in the army — made a plan to assassinate me after they saw that the number of people in my long march was exponentially increasing.

He, therefore, urged his followers and members to continue staging a protest against the aforementioned individuals.

"Continue your protest against these three individuals until they step down from their posts," Khan said.

'This was all planned'

The PTI chairman said that when he was standing atop the container in Wazirabad, a burst of bullets was fired at his convoy once, so he fell.

"Then another burst of bullets was fired from the opposite side," he said.

Khan added that the man who confessed to shooting him said that he was an extremist but "that's not the case."

"This was all planned. We have tried to lodge a first information report but no FIR is being registered by the police," he said.

Khan also said that once he regains his health, he would continue his long march towards Islamabad. 

'Govt can never lose no-trust move, but they used money'

Recalling the incidents that took place since the time a no-confidence motion was filed against him, Khan narrated that a “cypher came [and] a US official, Donald Lu, threatened the Pakistani ambassador that if Khan is not removed, the country will face difficulties.” 

"Following this, a no-confidence motion was filed and suddenly money was being used to buy the loyalties of our lawmakers," he added.

He elaborated that the government could have never lost the no-trust move, but “they [the coalition leaders] used the money to become successful."

“The PTI took a principled decision to not take part in this auction because if we use the government’s money, it will mean stealing the money of the nation and the people,” he said.

“After this, the government was removed […] people thought that now PTI's grave has been dug and Khan is gone forever but the Pakistani nation did what it never did before.”

He said: "People voted for me because they were fed up with them [but] the establishment decided that it was now time to change the government, so they brought them back."

He said that the establishment was used to impose decisions on the people. "This time, they were shocked that people did not stand by those who were stealing for the past 40 years."

'We didn't stop anyone'

The former premier said that because “I was a public leader and came into power with the support from people, I returned to them and they showed immense support. I was also shocked.”

He went on to say that when the PTI was in power, the then-opposition took out three long marches against the government but "we didn't stop anyone."

Khan, however, lamented that when PTI announced a long march on May 25 “they [coalition government] got scared and tortured people along with violating the sanctity of the four walls of houses.”

Recalling the incidents of his first march held on May 25 — which was abruptly ended — the PTI chief said that when people came out of their houses and were protesting peacefully, the law enforcement agencies used tear gas and shelling to scare everyone off.

“Pakistan’s own agencies were not allowing democratic processes to continue,” he added.

'CEC a servant of the Sharif family'

Khan also accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), saying that the body was involved with the incumbent government to sideline the PTI.

The former premier added that the ECP became a tool of the coalition government to disqualify him in the Toshakhana reference.

"In the July 17 by-election, the ECP resorted to all sorts of rigging tactics," he alleged. "They employed all manoeuvres to discredit me, resorted to mudslinging, and filed cases against me."

The PTI chief added that accusations levelled against him in the Toshakhana case are baseless as all the records are available in the Toshakhana.

"Despite knowing nothing could be stolen from the Toshakhana, the ECP disqualified me in that case because they wanted to create a level-playing field for [PML-N supremo] Nawaz Sharif.

Khan added that he cannot be compared to them [Sharif family] which has billions of assets abroad and live in the most expensive apartments in London.

He stated that the party would approach the court against the ECP's decision to disqualify him, claiming that Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja was a "servant of the Sharif family".