Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected allegations that he was involved in the assassination attempt on opposition leader Imran Khan, as supporters of the former prime minister continue to protest, demanding an investigation into the shooting. Khan was shot in the leg during an anti-government rally on Thursday. The cricketer-turned-politician accused Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a top Pakistani army general of attempting to assassinate him. “I have no right to remain in office if there is evidence of my involvement in this case,” Sharif said on Saturday, adding that no evidence had been produced against the three people named by Khan. “I will leave politics forever if it comes to this,” he told reporters in the northeastern city of Lahore. Sharif said the former prime minister was harming the country with “fake and cheap conspiracies”. He urged the Supreme Court to form a full panel to investigate the “serious” allegations. “I request the honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to form a full judicial commission as there should be an immediate decision on this matter after a thorough investigation,” he said. On Friday, Pakistan’s powerful military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 75 years of independence, responded by calling Khan’s remarks “irresponsible and unacceptable”. Khan maintains that his removal from office in a no-confidence vote in April was part of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched in the United States with the help of Pakistan’s opposition parties – a charge the government, the powerful military, has repeatedly denied. as well as Washington. Khan has held dozens of rallies across the country since April demanding early elections. He led a march to the capital, Islamabad, to press his demands when a gunman opened fire in eastern Punjab’s Wazirabad district. In the past, he has also accused military officials of torturing and harassing his party workers, including a senator and a top aide. Pakistan’s government on Saturday issued an order asking the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to reverse its decision to ban Khan’s live speeches on television channels. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the government believes in freedom of speech and democratic norms and will not stand in the way of Khan’s speeches reaching the public. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Khan’s supporters continued to protest in all major cities of Pakistan, demanding justice and calling for the resignation of the three people accused of the assassination attempt. His party workers and supporters said they did not require Khan to produce any evidence against his claims as they believed he was telling the truth.
