Imran Khan opens up about attempt on his life: ‘I’m so very lucky to be alive’

Former Pakistan prime minister also claims this month’s assassination attempt on him was not the first

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan said he is “so very lucky” to be alive after an assassination attempt was carried out on him earlier this month.

In a new interview with The Times published on Friday, the cricketer-turned-politician said he “thanked the Almighty that I was saved”.

“I shouldn't have really survived that. I'm so very lucky to be alive,” he insisted.

The cricketer-turned-prime minister was shot in the shin on 3 November while on a rally, after his anti-government protest convoy came under attack from a shooter who opened fire.

A supporter of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party who was taking part in the rally was killed and more than a dozen others were wounded.

His party was forced to pause the long march that was organised to pressure prime minister Shahbaz Sharif‘s government to hold early elections after the former international cricketer was ousted from office in April in a no-confidence vote in parliament.

In The Times interview, the former prime minister asserted his eagerness to return to the campaign trail, despite an intelligence report filed before the court, claiming another attempt could be carried out at his life.

A supporter of Imran Khan during a protest following the attack on the former prime minister, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 7 November (EPA)

Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice Aamer Farooq raised concerns about the possibility of a second assassination attempt after police submitted the report. It is “the responsibility of the government and the state” to look into this aspect of the threat to Mr Khan’s life, said the judge.

Meanwhile, authorities identified the suspect as Muhammad Naveed, a local scrap dealer.

Imran Khan says the ‘architects’ of the assassination attempt on him are ‘still in powerful positions’ (AFP via Getty Images)

He was arrested and authorities said he confessed to the intention of killing Mr Khan. But hours after the attack, the former prime minister accused his successor Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister Rana Sanaullah and military officer General Faisal Naseer of orchestrating the attack to kill him.

Reiterating his position, Mr Khan said in his latest interview that the “architects” of the attack are “still in powerful positions” and claimed this was not the first attempt on his life.

He said that, while travelling to the flood-affected areas of the country earlier in September, his helicopter had to make an emergency landing and claimed that the pilots had said “the fuel was tampered with”.