ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Friday appeared in a new video from the Lahore hospital where he is under treatment after surviving an assassination attempt in Punjab's Wazirabad town on Thursday and said that he ''already knew about the sinister plan to eliminate him.'' In his first address to the nation, since his assassination attempt on Thursday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief dismissed reports that he was hit by friendly fire and claimed that he was "hit by four bullets."


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“I got to know the day before the attack that either in Wazirabad or in Gujrat, they planned to kill me,” Khan claimed in a video address from a Lahore hospital.


 



 


He was seen dressed in a blue hospital gown, a drip attached to his arm, and a cast on his leg, with the national flag in the background. The former Pakistan prime minister is said to be “out of danger” at the moment, while one of his supporters died in the attack and at least 13 others, including party leaders, were injured. Khan said that ''four people plotted to kill me behind closed doors. I have a video with me, if something happens to me, the video will be released.''


The legendary cricketer-turned-politician claimed that he won't give up and will continue his struggle for ''Naya Pakistan." "I have come from among the common people, my party wasn't made under a military establishment. I have struggled for 22 years,'' the former Pakistan PM said. 


The arrested attacker has told the police on camera that he was acting on his own. “I was upset as he's misleading people and weaning them away from Islam's tenets,” he told the police but Khan and his party has blamed three men specifically: - PM Shehbaz Sharif, the internal security minister and a top General of the intelligence agency ISI.


However, the Shehbaz Sharif government has categorically denied any role in the conspiracy to eliminate him and promised a fair probe.


The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was ousted from power in April this year, by a vote of confidence. Khan said his government would have never lost the no-trust move. "...But they (the coalition leaders) used the money to become successful," he said.


He dismissed both the foreign funding cases and Toshakhana cases lodged against him as ''mere tactics'' to subdue him. On Thursday, PTI chief Imran Khan was attacked near his container in Punjab province during his long march in Wazirabad.


Imran sustained injuries on his leg and was shifted to a hospital for treatment. The PTI leaders said that Imran Khan`s condition is stable and he is out of danger. Earlier, the police said that seven people were injured and a person was killed during the firing incident.


The suspected shooter who opened fire during the rally was caught by police where he admitted that he wanted to kill Imran Khan because "he was misleading the public." Answering questions on any accomplices, the shooter said, "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." 


Hours after the assassination attempt against Imran Khan, people held protests in front of the Corps Commander House in Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTI senior leader Asad has demanded that all three people - the premier, the interior minister, and the senior military officer - should be removed from their offices. Last week, Imran Khan had started the long march towards Islamabad and targeted the country`s spy chief and accused him of holding a "political presser".