Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has postponed the resumption of his protest march on the country’s capital which is intended to challenge his successor’s government.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in Mr Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said that instead of Tuesday as previously announced, the march on Islamabad is to resume on Thursday. He did not give any reason for the delay.
Mr Khan, who began his protest march late last month in the city of Lahore with thousands of followers, was wounded in a shooting last week when a gunman attacked his convoy, killing one of his supporters. Thirteen other people were also wounded.
The gunman was arrested and has confessed to an assassination attempt on Mr Khan, according to police. The attack has raised concerns about growing political instability in Pakistan, which has a history of political violence and assassinations.
Following the attack, Mr Khan’s supporters have rallied across the country, at times clashing with police. On Monday, they blocked roads in the Pakistani capital and also in the cities of Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and elsewhere in the country.
Since the shooting, Mr Khan has claimed that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and two powerful government and army officials were behind the assassination attempt, without offering any evidence. Authorities have rejected the claim.
On Tuesday, Mr Khan’s party criticised Mr Sharif’s government after authorities charged the gunman with attempted murder, without investigating officials as the former premier had demanded.
Mr Khan was ousted from office in April in a no-confidence vote in parliament and has since been trying to stage a political comeback.
