The 2022 Azadi March II () was a protest march led by

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, former

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...

, from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

against the Shehbaz Sharif ministry. It succeeded

2022 Azadi March I The 2022 Azadi March I () was a protest march initiated by the ousted former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman Imran Khan against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. On 24 May 2 ...

, which took place in May. There was an

attempted assassination of Imran Khan On 3 November 2022, Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan and chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, was shot in an assassination attempt in Wazirabad, Punjab, during the 2022 Azadi March II against the Pak ...

during the early days of the march. Khan decided to push for the dissolution of the provincial assemblies of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

to force early elections instead of continuing the march. Continued dispute between PTI and the federal government of Pakistan on the holding of elections leading to

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

at the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

March stop points

* Shahdara Bagh (

) 29 October 2022 *

Muridke Muridke ( Punjabi, ur, ), is a city and headquarters of Muridke Tehsil of Sheikhupura District in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 53rd largest city of Pakistan by population. Muridke is situated near the city of Lahore, at an elevation of 205 ...

30 October 2022 *

Kamoke Kamoke ( pnb, , ur, ) is a city in Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 30th largest city of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Kamoke Tehsil, which is an administrative subdivision of the district and is itself subdivided into ...

31 October 2022 *

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

1–2 November 2022 *

Wazirabad Wazirabad (Urdu/ pa, ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Wazirabad District. Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous for its foods. Wazirabad is situated on the banks of th ...

3 November 2022 * Gujrat * Lala Musa *

Kharian Kharian ( ur, ), is a city located within the Gujrat District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kharian is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil. According to 2017 Census of Pakistan, it has a population of about 87,419. It is known as Litt ...

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

Dina Dina ( ar, دينا, he, דִּינָה, also spelled Dinah, Dena, Deena) is a female given name. Women * Dina bint Abdul-Hamid (1929–2019), Queen consort of Jordan, first wife of King Hussein * Princess Dina Mired of Jordan (born 1965), Princ ...

Sohawa Sohawa is a town in the Punjab province of Pakistan, and is the capital of the Sohawa Tehsil, which is an administrative subdivision of Jhelum District in Punjab. Sohawa has grown from a small village in 1947 to a large town in 2014, with majo ...

* Gujar Khan *

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

26 November 2022 *

March

Imran ultimately announced on 25 October 2022, that the long march will begin on 28 October, from Liberty Chowk,

, and will end in

before turning into a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

Incidents

Sadaf Naeem death

On 30 October 2022, Sadaf Naeem, a journalist for a Pakistani news TV channel died in an accident while trying to cover the march in close proximity. She tried to climb Khan's truck and lost her balance, fell on the ground, and was run-over by the truck. She was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. On her death,

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

's leadership expressed shock and grief. Imran Khan announced a stop to his Azadi March for the day. He also visited her residence in order to offer condolences to her family. The PTI wished for appointment of a new COAS.

Shooting of Imran Khan

Assassination attempt

On 3 November, while giving a speech to his supporters, shots were fired by unidentified gunmen at Khan's container-mounted-truck. According to an aide of Khan, the truck was fired at six times. A Khan supporter by the name of Ibtisam tried to tackle the gunman. One other supporter was shot dead attempting to tackle the shooter. A burst of gunfire happened first, then, moments later, a single pistol fire sound. Khan was shot in the shin and thigh on the right leg and was transferred to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore, where he underwent treatment. His doctor,

Faisal Sultan Faisal Sultan is a Pakistani physician who has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre from 2003 to 2020. He was later appointed as the Ministry of National Health Services, Regul ...

, said that X-rays and scans showed bullet fragments lodged in Khan's legs, and that his

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

was fractured. A leader of the PTI said that his condition was stable. He was then discharged from the hospital on the 6th of November. In total, nine people were injured, including Imran Khan and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Faisal Javed Khan Faisal Javed Khan is a Pakistani politician who has been a Member of the Senate of Pakistan, since March 2018. He was also elected as Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Senator Faisal Javed Khan is the most fol ...

, and one person was killed.

References

{{Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf 2022 protests 2022 in Pakistani politics October 2022 events in Pakistan November 2022 events in Pakistan Protest marches Protests in Pakistan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan 2022–2023 Pakistan political unrest