Pakistan's former prime minister, Imran Khan, has been shot and wounded in the leg in an attack on his protest march in the eastern city of Wazirabad, reported BBC citing senior sources.

 

Members of his PTI party said another four people were hurt in the shooting.

 

Khan, 70, was leading the march to the capital Islamabad to demand snap elections after he was ousted in April. 

 

The former prime minister was seen being taken to a hospital in Lahore. A party spokesman said he had been hit in the shin, stated the report.

 

A senior aide told AFP news agency it was "an attempt to kill him", but police are yet to confirm that he was the target.

 

Another party leader, provincial health minister Yasmeen Rashid, said Khan was in a stable condition.

 

Police released a video confession of a man they arrested who they say had attempted to kill the former PM.

 

It is unclear under what conditions the interview was carried out, but in it the man is asked by police why he opened fire, and replies: "He was misguiding the people. I wanted to kill him. I tried to kill him."

 

Another video shows a conscious Khan with a bandage on his right leg being taken away in a vehicle after the shooting.

 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the shooting and ordered an immediate investigation. President Arif Alvi said the incident was a "heinous assassination attempt".

 

Pakistan has a long history of deadly political violence. In the most high-profile case, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a public rally in 2007.