Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the foot on Thursday at a political rally, but is in a stable condition, a senior aide said.

Khan was wounded when shots were fired from the crowd near the city of Gujranwala, his senior aide, Raoof Hasan, told AFP.

"This was an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him," Hasan said, adding that one alleged attacker had been shot dead and a second was taken into police custody.

Khan has been leading a march since last Friday from the city of Lahore towards the capital Islamabad, campaigning for fresh elections after he was ousted from office this spring.

Each day during his so-called "long march" 70-year-old Khan has mounted a shipping container towed by a lorry, making speeches from the open top to crowds of thousands in cities and towns along the way.

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