Pakistan's Imran Khan Injured from Rally Fall.
(sarwar hussain, karachi)
Pakistan cricket star turned
politician Imran Khan sustained head injuries and was rushed to hospital Tuesday
after falling off a lift taking him onto the stage for an election rally, his
party said.
Khan was carried by aides gripping onto his arms and legs as police cleared a
way through the crowd at the event in Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore,
footage broadcast by private Dunya television showed.
"Imran Khan fell from a lifter. He has received injuries to his head and he has
been taken to hospital," Malik Ishtiaq, a local spokesman for Khan's Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told AFP in tears.
Another party spokesman said Khan's injuries were minor.
"Imran Khan is alright. He has been taken to the hospital for first aid. He will
be back to address the rally very soon after getting initial treatment,"
Chaudhry Rizwan told AFP by telephone.
Campaigning has reached the final stretches ahead of Pakistan's general election
on Saturday when the country's electorate of 86 million will go to the polls to
elect a new national assembly and four regional assemblies.
Khan, who won only one seat in 2002 and boycotted polls in 2008, has led an
electric campaign, galvanising the middle class and young people in what he has
called a "tsunami" of support that will propel him into office.
Main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is widely tipped to win the election and
secure an historic third term for his Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N).