Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith thanked the man who caught the gunman who shot Khan during the party's long march. "Thank you from his sons to the heroic man in the crowd who tackled the gunman," she tweeted.
Khan was attacked in Gujranwala while leading a march against the ruling coalition. Goldsmith in a series of tweets wrote: "The news we dread... Thank God he's okay." She also praised another man who tried to stop the assassin but did not survive. "Another hero, who tried to stop the gunman, who very sadly didn't survive. Condolences to his family."
Dr Faisal Sultan said Khan's condition is stable. "But according to X-rays and scans, there are fragments of bullets in his legs and there's a chip in his tibia shin bone." He has been moved to the operation theater for further evaluation and removal of bullet fragments.
The police said the attacker said he wanted to kill Imran Khan for "misleading the public." He was also seen speaking on a video shared on social media. He said: "I thought of this as there was Azaan going on and on the other side, Imran Khan is taking out his container and making noise. My conscience did not approve of this. I decided this suddenly... I conspired against Imran Khan when he kicked off his long march from Lahore. I made up my mind that I will not leave him alive."
The gunman said no one else was involved in the attack. "I have conspired this alone and no one else is involved in this. I came on a bike and I parked it at my uncle's shop. He has a motorcycle showroom."
Senior PTI leaders said Imran Khan believes the attack was for three people including current PM Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister Rana Sanaullah, and a top ISI Major General Faisal Naseer. PTI leaders Asad Umar and Mian Aslam Iqbal said: "A short while ago, Imran Khan told us to issue this statement on his behalf. He believes there are three people on whose behest this was done - Shehbaz Sharif, Rana Sanaullah, and Maj Gen Faisal. He said he was receiving information and is saying this on that basis"