PAKISTAN-Former PM Khan Injured In Shooting

Aides to former Pakistani PM Imran Khan have confirmed that the opposition leader was injured in a shooting in the eastern city of Wazirabad in an apparent assassination attempt. Reuters carries comments from Khan's aide Asad Umar stating that "A man opened fire with an automatic weapon. Several people are wounded. Imran Khan is also injured". Early supports suggest that Khan was taken to hospital but is not gravely wounded.

• Pakistan remains a political powder-keg following the ousting of Khan as PM in April, and his subsequent barring from public office in October for misleading officials on the reception of official gifts, but a sentence he says is politically motivated.
• Pakistan has proved one of China's closest allies in Asia in recent years, becoming a major destination for infrastructure investment as part of the Belt and Road initiative. The risk of major domestic unrest sparked by Khan's attempted assassination is likely to be closely watched in Beijing. Also in Delhi, where long-standing animosities between India and Pakistan have led to concerns in the Modi gov't about the close relations between Beijing and Islamabad.