It has been a tumultuous month in a difficult year for Pakistani politics. On the 3rd of November, gunshots sounded in a crowd gathered in Wazirabad, an eastern city of Pakistan. It was an assassination attempt on Imran Khan - the country’s former premier and leader of the popular PTI party - which left one dead and fourteen wounded. 

Khan sustained injuries in his legs, though he is now in a stable condition. The event unfolded during an anti-government “long march” to Islamabad, the capital, which was headed by Khan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens turned out to support the ousted prime minister and since April 2022, several rallies and marches have occurred in support of PTI, with some turning violent. After the shooting, many of Khan’s fans took to the streets of Pakistan, clashing with the police, as they threw rocks while the authorities responded with tear gas. 

Imran Khan, the charismatic cricketer-turned-politician has a worldwide following, including many followers here in London. Earlier this year, on the 17th of April, large crowds accumulated in Hyde Park, to show their solidarity with Khan and his party. Chanting slogans and waving political and patriotic flags, the congregation walked to the luxury residence of  Nawaz Sharif, member of the opposition party PMLN. Other places in the UK also saw pro-PTI marches. Rallies like this were held worldwide, with people eager to show their support in an array of countries. Khan believes that the attack was a ‘plot’ devised by those who had removed him from parliament after the ‘unprecedented public reaction’. I spoke to Waji Riaz, who has been living in England for eight years after relocating from Pakistan. “I was shocked when I heard the news,” he told me, “I haven’t heard anything positive about the country in the media for a while now… first the floods and now this shooting. I’m worried for Pakistan.” When I asked him whether he would attend any PTI rallies here in London he replied, “Yes, for sure. We can’t do much to change anything considering we’re a continent away but we can at least show our support.”

Perhaps surprising to some, Khan has also spent considerable time in the UK, having been educated at Worcester Grammar School and the University of Oxford. He also played county cricket for Worcestershire and Sussex. 

With political tensions mounting in Pakistan, there could be another march in London, with many overseas Pakistanis expressing their desire for Khan to lead the South Asian nation. The opposition parties have some defenders too, yet nobody can deny Imran Khan’s world of support.