On 3 November 2022,

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

, a former

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, 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 of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

and chairman of the

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

(PTI) political party, was shot and wounded in an attempted assassination in

Wazirabad Wazirabad (Urdu/) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of Wazirabad District (formerly a Tehsil of Gujranwala District). Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous f ...

, Punjab, during the

2022 Azadi March II The 2022 Haqeeqi Azadi March () was a month-long march from October 28 to November 26, 2022 led by Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan, from Lahore to Rawalpindi against the Shehbaz Sharif ministry. It succeeded 2022 Azadi march, whi ...

against the

Pakistan government The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, cons ...

. The gunman also injured a number of other PTI leaders and killed a supporter. The attacker's name is Muhammad Naveed and another unidentified gunman was killed.

Background

Ousting of Imran Khan

political crisis A cabinet crisis, government crisis or political crisis refers to a situation where an incumbent government is unable to form or function, is toppled through an uprising, or collapses. Political crises may correspond with, cause or be caused by an ...

began in Pakistan in 2022 when the opposition

Pakistan Democratic Movement The Pakistan Democratic Movement (; PDM) was a coalition of List of political parties in Pakistan, political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a political movement, opposition movement against Imran Khan, accusing his I ...

tabled a

no-confidence motion against Imran Khan In April 2022, a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan led to his removal as the prime minister of Pakistan. Based largely on the Westminster system of legislature, the prime minister commands confidence of the majority of the lower house of ...

. The crisis involved a constitutional crisis when President

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...

dissolved

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on Khan's recommendation. The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

reinstated the parliament and Khan lost the no-confidence motion, being succeeded by prime minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

. Khan has blamed his ousting on an " American conspiracy", calling the following administration an "imported government".

2022 Azadi March-II

The 2022 Azadi March-II is a march on

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

which commenced on 28 October 2022, conducted by Khan and his supporters to protest the government's refusal to hold early elections.

Attack

On 3 November 2022, while Khan was giving a speech in Wazirabad, Punjab, to his supporters, shots were fired by a gunman 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. Khan was shot in the shin and thigh on the right leg and was transferred to

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) is a cancer centre with locations in Lahore and Peshawar, and an upcoming branch in Karachi, Pakistan. SKMCH&RC Lahore was the first project of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial ...

in Lahore, where he underwent treatment. His doctor, Faisal Sultan, said that X-rays and scans showed bullet fragments lodged in Khan's legs, and that his

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

was fractured. A leader of the PTI said that his condition was stable. In the hospital, Khan met Ibtisam, the person who tried to tackle the gunman. Khan gave Ibtisam his thanks and an autograph. In total, nine people were injured, including Khan and Senator

Faisal Javed Khan Faisal Javed Khan (born 26 January 1981) is a Pakistani politician who was a Member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2018 to March 2024. He was also elected as Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Senator Fais ...

, and one civilian was killed.

Suspects

The Punjab Police announced that they had arrested the gunman who had shot Khan, identifying him as Muhammad Naveed. In a video shared by the police, the suspect stated that he shot Khan as he was "spreading hatred and misleading the people", as well as making "blasphemous and anti-religion" remarks. He also stated that he was upset that Khan's march had been playing music and had been dancing during the

Azaan The (, ) is the Islamic call to prayer, usually recited by a muezzin, traditionally from the minaret of a mosque, shortly before each of the five obligatory daily prayers. The adhan is also the first phrase said in the ear of a newborn baby, ...

. He added that he was acting on his own and only wanted to kill Khan. The video was dismissed by Khan's allies as a "cover-up". The Punjab Police on 5 November stated that Naveed was a drug addict and the veracity of his statements was questionable. On 26 April 2025, Naveed was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for carrying out the attack.

Other arrests

Two other suspects were later arrested and identified as Waqas and Faisal Butt. The two were accused of providing an unlicensed pistol to Naveed for the attack, as well as selling other pistols and bullets to him for

Rs. Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afri ...

20,000. Two

PML-N The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

activists named Mudassir Nazir and Ahsan Ali were arrested for their social media posts in January 2023, along with Tayyab Butt who was accused of helping Naveed obtain the pistol.

Reactions

Domestic

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack on Khan "in the strongest words", praying for the recovery of Khan and the other people who were injured, and saying, "I have directed

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

for an immediate report on the incident." He also said that the federal government would provide all necessary support to the provincial government in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in security and investigation. The

Pakistani military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...

condemned the attack and offered "sincere prayers for precious life lost and speedy recovery of Khan". The following politicians have also denounced the attack: * Foreign minister

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office from 27 April 2022 to 10 August 2023. He became the chairman of Pakistan People's Party in 2007 following ...

* PMLN vice-president

Maryam Nawaz Maryam Nawaz Sharif (born 28 October 1973) is a Pakistani politician who has served as the 20th chief minister of Punjab since 26 February 2024. She is the first woman to hold the position of chief minister in Pakistan. Born to former Prime ...

* PMLN leader and former prime minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

* PPP co-chairman

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

* JUI (F) Ameer &

president Fazal-ur-Rehman * PSP Leader

Syed Mustafa Kamal Syed Mustafa Kamal (Urdu: ; born 27 December 1971) is a Pakistani politician currently serving as the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination since 27 February 2025 and Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since ...

* MQM-L Leader Altaf Hussain PTI members

Asad Umar Asad Umar (; born 8 September 1961) is a Pakistani former business executive and politician who served as the Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2019 and the Federal Minister for Planning, De ...

and Mian Aslam Iqbal released a statement, saying that Khan has asked them to issue it on his behalf. They said that Khan "believes there are 3 people on whose behest this was done – Shehbaz Sharif,

Rana Sanaullah Rana Sanaullah Khan (; born 1 January 1955) is a Pakistani lawyer and politician who is currently serving as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs since April 2024. Previously, he served as the 39th Interior Minister of Pak ...

and Major General

Faisal Naseer Faisal Naseer () is a Pakistani two-star general and spymaster who is the current Director General of Counter Intelligence for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Career In 1992, Faisal Naseer was inducted into the Pakistan Army The Pak ...

". He said he was receiving information and is saying this on that basis. One day after Khan was shot, he stated "I will give a call to march on Islamabad once I get better".

International

* : Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

called the attack "completely unacceptable", saying that violence "has no place in politics, in any democracy, or in our society". He sent his condolences to the family of the deceased political worker who died during the incident. * : The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

condemned the attempted assassination and wished Khan a speedy recovery from his injuries in a statement. * : A spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said that his country is "closely keeping an eye" on developments in Pakistan. * :

spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the assassination attempt against Khan and wished a speedy recovery. * : The

strongly condemned the attack on Khan. * : The

condemned the assassination attempt against Khan. * : The

offered their condolences to Khan and the family of the one Pakistani killed in the attack, stressing the importance of "peace and stability nPakistan" in a statement. * : The

condemned the assassination attempt against Khan. In a statement, it said, "UAE expresses its strong condemnation of these criminal acts that aim to destabilize security and stability, and are inconsistent with humanitarian values and principles." * : The

Minister of State for Asia, Energy, Climate and Environment Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

and Khan's former brother-in-law,

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist who served as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environmen ...

, called the attack "appalling" and said, "Imran Khan is strong and will soon be back on his feet." * : The

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

strongly condemned the attack on Khan.

References

{{Imran Khan 2022–2023 Pakistan political unrest 2022 crimes in Pakistan 2022 in Pakistani politics 2022 in Punjab, Pakistan 2022 mass shootings in Asia 2020s crimes in Punjab, Pakistan Failed assassination attempts in Pakistan Political career of Imran Khan Mass shootings in Pakistan November 2022 crimes in Asia November 2022 in Pakistan