Imran Khan blames Pakistan prime minister for assassination bid

Shehbaz Sharif's government rejects accusation and calls for investigation into shooting

Imran Khan, former prime minister and head of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, speaks to journalists at Shaukat Khanum hospital where he was admitted after being shot, near Wazirabad, in Lahore. EPA

Mr Khan said two gunmen had tried to assassinate him in Wazirabad. AFP

Police use teargas to disperse supporters of Mr Khan during a protest in Rawalpindi. Reuters

Officers clash with supporters of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf in Islamabad. EPA

Supporters of Mr Khan have vowed the assassination attempt will not derail his 'long march' bid to return to power. AFP

PTI supporters gather for a protest in Karachi. AFP

Blockading a motorway during a PTI protest in Peshawar. AP

More protesters, in Wazirabad. Reuters

A supporter of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, places flowers outside the hospital in Lahore where Mr Khan is recovering after an assassination attempt that left him with a gunshot wound to the leg. AFP

Imran Khan supporters protest at the cordoned-off site of the assassination attempt in Wazirabad. AFP

A bouquet at the hospital where Imran Khan is said to be in a stable condition after undergoing surgery, according to a senior member of his party. AP Photo

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was wounded in a shooting incident in Wazirabad. A gunman opened fire on a campaign vehicle carrying Mr Khan, wounding him slightly and also some of his supporters, a senior leader from his party and police said. AP

A supporter of Mr Khan places flowers outside the hospital where he is being treated, in Lahore. AFP

Khan's supporters take part in a protest against the assassination attempt, in Peshawar. AFP

Investigators examine the rooftop of a container truck used by the former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan during his political rallies, hours after a gun attack in Wazirabad. AFP

A police officer walks past a lorry near the scene where Mr Khan was shot, in Wazirabad. Reuters

A Khan supporter in Karachi gestures during a protest following the shooting incident. Mr Khan was shot in the leg and has been admitted to hospital. Reuters

Khan supporters shout slogans during a protest in Karachi after the former prime minister was shot. EPA

Khan supporters in Karachi react following the shooting incident in Wazirabad. Reuters

Supporters of the former prime minister take part in a protest in Peshawar against the shooting. AFP

Khan supporters shout slogans during a protest in Karachi. EPA

A boy in Islamabad watches television showing news of the shooting. AFP

Policemen stand guard outside the Shaukat Khanum hospital in Lahore where Mr Khan was admitted following the shooting. AFP

Mr Khan is helped after the shooting. Reuters

Faisal Javed, a senator and close aid of Mr Khan, was also injured during the incident. AP

Policemen stand guard outside the hospital where Mr Khan was admitted. EPA

Imran Khan has blamed three leading government officials, including Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after he was shot in the leg at a rally.

The attack on his convoy in Punjab on Thursday, apparently by a lone gunman, killed one man and wounded at least 10 others. It significantly raised the stakes in the political crisis that has gripped the country since Mr Khan was ousted as prime minster in April.

Mr Khan is now in a stable condition. He and his supporters have called it an attempted assassination.

He escaped with at least one bullet wound to his right leg when a gunmen repeatedly fired a pistol at a modified container lorry as it drove slowly through a thick crowd in Wazirabad, about 170 kilometres east of Islamabad.

"Everyone who was standing in the very front row got hit," former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who was standing behind Mr Khan, told AFP.

A close aide and spokesman for his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said in a video message that Mr Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Maj Gen Faisal Naseer were behind the shooting.

Asad Umar said his party was calling for the immediate removal of the officials from office but offered no evidence to back his claim that they were involved.

The former prime minister was leading a march toward the capital Islamabad to demand early elections.

Supporters have taken to the streets across different cities to protest and Mr Khan’s party leaders are calling for the march to continue on Friday.

Mr Sharif’s government rejected the accusation that it was behind the attack. It has condemned the incident and called for an investigation.

PTI officials are expected to meet on Friday to discuss the immediate fate of Mr Khan's campaign march, and vowed it would continue.

"The real freedom long march will continue and the movement for people's rights will remain until an announcement on the general elections," an official said on Twitter.