Political mudslinging has begun in Pakistan after an assassination attempt was made on former prime minister Imran Khan during a rally in the Punjab province.
Imran Khan was shot at during his long march in Wazirabad on Thursday, leading to bullet injuries in his legs. After sustaining injuries, he was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
He has since held both the coalition government and military establishment responsible for the attack.
Writing for Haaretz newspaper, journalist Kunwar Khuldune Shahid said Pakistan's most popular leaders have a long history of being unexpectedly eliminated from running in elections.
"When they aren't being ousted by the military, via coups or political skullduggery, they have been killed - from the country's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto," he worte for Israeli newspaper.
In a confessional video making rounds of social media, after the assassination bid on the cricketer-turned-politician, the suspect said, "He (Khan) was leading the people astray, and I couldn't stand it... While the Azaan (call for prayer) was going on, they were creating noise on decks (woofers). My conscience did not accept that."
"They (Khan's government) accepted Israel. Accepting Israel is not something a Muslim should do. Our Prophet said only a kafir can be friends with another kafir, and will also become kafir alongside them," the shooter said, according to Haaretz, citing acceptance for Israel as the rationale for attacking Khan.
This comes in the backdrop of the Pakistan delegation's recent visit to Israel sparked a row after several ex-pats and a couple of citizens travelled to Israel. The trip organiser told Dawn newspaper they had arranged special permission from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to Pakistan-based Kunwar Shahid, Khan has been an active peddler of much of what his attacker alleges motivated his attempted assassination and the instrumentalization of violence itself for political gain.
"When a Pakistani group visited Israel in May, Khan regurgitated the same antisemitic allegations that had been used against him, referencing the new government's movement towards recognizing the Jewish state," he added.
Shahid said Khan is hardly the first Pakistani leader to endorse venomous narratives for political gains.
"The Sharif and Bhutto families, who have long been the target of suppression by the military, have now replaced Khan in doing the military's bidding, including the same gaslighting about how they won't give in on the Israeli front," he wrote in Haaretz.
( With inputs from ANI )
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