RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s former minister Imran Khan arrived in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in a helicopter on Saturday to address thousands of people at his first public appearance since being shot during an anti-government march earlier this month near Wazirabad city.

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April, has held several protest rallies across Pakistan in a bid to pressure the government to announce snap polls. The government has refused his demand in the past while saying the general elections will be held as per schedule toward the end of next year.

Last month, the former prime minister kicked off his “long march” from the eastern city of Lahore to Pakistan’s federal capital to mount further pressure on the ruling administration, though his motorized caravan had to discontinue its journey after a gun attack that killed one person and injured Khan along with his ten other supporters.

Khan invited workers and supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to reach Rawalpindi in a video message in which he said he was going to come to the venue himself despite bring injured.

“PTI Chairman Imran Khan has arrived in Rawalpindi via helicopter,” Dawn newspaper reported in its live updates.

Earlier, Pakistan’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah asked the former prime minister to return to parliament and hold a dialogue with the government and its allies for early elections.

“Don’t be obstinate,” he said in a Twitter post. “If you want a date for the election, then act like a politician, sit with other politicians [and] have a dialogue.”

“Come back and become part of parliament,” he continued. “Let the political and democratic process go forward.”

Sanaullah also asked the former prime minister to postpone his anti-government rally during a news conference on Friday, saying intelligence agencies had warned that a militant attack could target the gathering.

Prior to that, the provincial government in Punjab, which Rawalpindi is a part of, said it had made arrangements to provide “foolproof” security to Khan and his protest rally.