FirstFT: Imran Khan injured in apparent assassination attempt

Imran Khan has been shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt, an act of violence against one of Pakistan’s most popular and influential political leaders that shocked the country.

Khan, 70, who was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April, was injured in his leg and was not in a critical condition, according to Pakistani officials. President Arif Alvi wrote on Twitter that Khan was “safe but injured with few bullets in his leg and hopefully non-critical”.

Officials said an assailant fired on Khan’s convoy as the former leader travelled through the city of Wazirabad, part of a week-long march intended to challenge the government of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. A video of the scene captured a burst of gunfire as Khan stood on an open-top truck surrounded by supporters.

Officials from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said one person had been killed and seven injured in the shooting. The PTI posted on Twitter a video of Faisal Javed Khan, a senator, with bloodstains and bandages on his face. Officials added that one person had been arrested.

Sharif “severely condemned” the attack. “Violence should have no place in our country’s politics,” the PM wrote on Twitter. He said he had ordered the interior minister to make an immediate report on the incident.

Thanks for reading. FirstFT Asia will be back in your inbox on Monday. — Emily

Five more stories in the news

1. US to send nuclear-capable warplanes to Korean peninsula The US plans to deploy more nuclear-capable warplanes around the Korean peninsula, in an effort to boost deterrence as North Korea steps up missile launches and prepares for a possible nuclear test, firing at least three ballistic missiles yesterday.

2. Iranian protests continue in mourning for those killed In ceremonies to mark the 40th day since the deaths of some young protesters, demonstrators gathered in cities around Iran, chanting anti-regime slogans and fought with riot police. The protests expanded throughout the day continued into the evening.

3. Bank of England raises interest rates by 0.75 percentage points The BoE’s 0.75 percentage point increase to 3 per cent took interest rates to their highest point since 2008. But the central bank issued unusually strong guidance that rates would not need to rise much further to bring inflation back to its 2 per cent target, partly because it forecast a prolonged recession ahead.

4. Tech groups cut jobs and pause hiring amid ‘leaner times’ Ecommerce platform Stripe and ride-hailing service Lyft have become the latest technology companies to lay off staff, while Amazon said it would pause new hires in its corporate workforce as businesses tighten their belts to cope with an economic slowdown.

5. Lenovo revenues shrink as PC market suffers global downturn The world’s largest computer maker has posted its first sales decline in more than two years after the global PC market suffered its worst quarterly downturn on record. A zero-Covid policy of frequent lockdowns in its home market of China has damped retail demand and disrupted businesses.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

The days ahead

South Korean president meets German counterpart German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to meet President Yoon Suk-yeol today. Steinmeier will also pay tribute to the victims of last weekend’s deadly Halloween crowd crush. (Yonhap)

Berkshire Hathaway earnings Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will report third-quarter earnings on Saturday.

Malaysia election campaign begins Politicians will begin two weeks of campaigning ahead of the national election set for November 19. (AP)

Correction: We incorrectly stated Olaf Scholz would arrive in China yesterday. He will arrive and meet Chinese president Xi Jinping today.

What else we’re reading

‘I spent 10 days in a secret Chinese Covid detention centre’ The FT’s Shanghai correspondent recounts his harrowing time in an island quarantine facility after he is identified as a close contact of a Covid-19 case. “I was being ‘taken away’, as this process is commonly referred to in China,” Thomas Hale writes.

How long can Japan’s central bank defy global market forces? The Bank of Japan is betting on a royal flush of macroeconomic outcomes to solve its most pressing problems. Meanwhile, the radars of investors around the world are beeping noisily with signs of a potentially explosive Japan crisis.

“There’s a logic and a strategy behind what the BoJ is doing, but it’s a risky one,” says Derek Halpenny, head of research for global markets at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir emerges as Israel’s kingmaker Less than 18 months after being ousted by a sprawling, eight-party coalition, Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to return to power. His rapid return is thanks to a large extent to the rise of an extreme-right grouping spearheaded by Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist once convicted of incitement to racism.

China’s closed-loop crisis: ‘I’m human, not a machine’ The “closed-loop” system was designed to keep factories running during coronavirus outbreaks. But the system, used at plants making Apple devices and Tesla cars, is fast becoming unsustainable as supply chains are choked and foreign companies risk reputational damage from human rights violations.

Executives wake up to their collective blind spots We learnt from the financial crisis that when networks lack diversity, they are vulnerable to a single shock, writes Gillian Tett. But what is striking, in retrospect, is that the non-financial world seems to have learnt so little from it.

Travel

FT Globetrotter editors weigh in on how to make the most of your next trip on this episode of the FT Weekend podcast. Check out Globetrotter for more on doing karaoke in Tokyo with your boss, New York’s high-end Korean food scene and more.