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Zohra Shahid Hussain was a senior member of former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

ISLAMABAD - Gunmen killed a senior female politician from a reformist party in Pakistan on Saturday night, the latest violent incident in a bloody election campaign and one that set off a war of words between two major opposition parties. 

It was not immediately clear who killed Zohra Shahid Hussain, a senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. The PTI has promised to reduce endemic corruption in the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people.

Around 150 people were killed in the run-up to national elections held last week, which handed a landslide victory to opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N party. 

It marked the first time an elected government replaced another one in a nation that has been run by military leaders for more than half its history. 

Results from a handful of constituencies are still awaited amid accusations of vote-rigging. The shooting came hours ahead of re-polling in a key area beset by allegations of voting fraud. 

'Shockwaves '
The PTI's leader, former international cricket star Imran Khan, immediately blamed the killing on the Muttahida Quami Movement. The MQM has a stranglehold on politics in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi. 

"Her death has sent shockwaves across the rank and file of the party," Khan said in a statement. 

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Activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) mourn the death of Zohra Shahid Hussain, vice president of the women's wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the province of Sindh, outside the hospital in Karachi on Saturday.

Police said that two gunmen shot Hussain dead outside her home in an upscale neighborhood of Karachi, he said. 

"I hold (MQM leader) Altaf Hussain directly responsible for the murder as he openly threatened PTI workers and leaders through public broadcasts," he added in a tweet. 

"I also hold the British government responsible as I had warned them about British citizen Altaf Hussain after his open threats." 

MQM leader Hussain is wanted on murder charges in Pakistan and leads his party remotely from exile in England. His party is designated a terrorist organization by Canada, a charge it strongly denies. 

In recent days he gave a speech which many Pakistanis felt was an incitement to attack political rivals. The British police have been flooded with complaints demanding an investigation. 

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The MQM leader insisted his words were taken out of context. MQM leaders held a press conference within hours of Hussain's death to disclaim responsibility and demand a retraction from Khan. 

Khan's election campaign electrified many Pakistanis, pushing the PTI from a marginal party with no seats in the legislature to become Pakistan's third largest party. 

National polls held a week ago gave the MQM 18 out of 19 national assembly seats in its power base in Karachi. Repolling is due to be held Sunday in the final constituency, thought to be a stronghold of PTI, after many polling stations failed to open on election day. 

The steamy port city of Karachi is Pakistan's financial heart and home to 18 million people. It typically sees about a dozen murders a day, a deadly combination of political killings, attacks by Taliban and sectarian militant groups, and street crime.

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- At least 18 people were killed as they prayed when explosions ripped through two mosques in Pakistan on Friday, villagers and government officials said.

The blasts occurred in Bazdara, which is located in a mountainous region close to the restive Swat valley. Villagers put the death toll at 33. However, authorities said 18 people had died.

"The roof of [one of the mosques] collapsed in the blast," local resident Shah Jehan said.

Pakistani security forces cordoned off the area while villagers searched the rubble for survivors.

"The death toll is likely to rise as some of the injured people are in a serious condition," local government official Sajid Khan added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Pakistani military has maintained a heavy presence in the region since its 2009 offensive against militants in nearby Swat.

Related:

• Full Pakistan coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:59 AM EDT

LAHORE, Pakistan - Center-right Pakistani politician Nawaz Sharif was set to return as his country's prime minister on Monday - his third time in the job - after voters defied deadly Taliban attacks to cast their ballots in record numbers. 

Sharif, who campaigned on restoring Pakistan’s weak economy, was in overnight meetings to form a new government, according to Sen. Pervez Rashid, a spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

Officials said turnout was over 60 percent, a record in a country where historically less than half of registered voters cast their ballots, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the national body tasked with holding elections.  

The election marked another watershed -- it was the first time in the country's 65-year history that a legislature has completed its term, paving the way for the possibility of a peaceful transition of power from one civilian government to the next.

While final election results had not been announced, preliminary results reported on local media appeared to give 63-year-old Sharif a resounding victory.

Sharif defeated telegenic former cricketer Imran Khan’s Movement for Justice party (PTI), who had been campaigning against older, more powerful parties like Sharif’s.  Khan was in a close fight for second place with the Pakistan People’s Party of president Asif Ali Zardari, which just ended its often-criticized rule in Pakistan after five years.

Khan, who was seriously injured in a fall on the eve of the elections, swore from his hospital bed that his party will form a strong opposition, while investigating alleged rigging.

Nevertheless, Fakhruddin Ebrahim, the country's chief election commissioner, congratulated the country on television for holding "historic and free" elections, though he did admit that there were irregularities in Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most violent city.

Protesters from different parties gathered in moderate numbers across the country, demanding an investigation by the election officials against poll rigging.  The Election Commission, in response, called a meeting for investigation rigging allegations for later Monday. 

Still, the mood in Pakistan seems upbeat, as the Karachi Stock Exchange just crossed record levels and breached the 20,000 point barrier.

Conciliatory tone
Sharif struck a conciliatory tone as results rolled in over the weekend.

"I appeal to all to come sit with me at the table so that this nation can get rid of this curse of power cuts, inflation and unemployment," Sharif said according to The Associated Press.

Sharif and his government will have their work cut out for them.  Pakistan suffers from a growing energy crisis, with some areas experiencing power outages for up to 18 hours a day. That has seriously hurt the economy, pushing growth below 4 percent a year.

Pakistan needs a growth rate of twice that to provide jobs for its expanding population of 180 million. They will also have to cope with spiraling violence.

The build up to the polls saw over a 100 people killed in militant attacks, and of Sharif's most urgent problems will be what to do about violent Islamic extremism throughout his country.  His party has been accused of being soft on radicals after not cracking down on violent groups in its stronghold of Punjab province.

The United States has pushed Pakistan for years to take stronger action against fighters whose who attack American troops across the border in Afghanistan.

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Once considered a protege of the country's powerful army, Sharif served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister in the 1990s before his relationship with the military deteriorated. He was ousted in a coup and replaced by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999, and exiled to Saudi Arabia.

Known to be a religious conservative personally, Sharif's first term in office was marked by efforts to increase the role of Islam in government, including trying to introduce Shariah law through parliament.

Pakistan also became a nuclear state during his second term in office. Sharif also built a reputation for launching large-scale, economic initiatives to spur development, including power, transportation, and technology projects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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• The ex-cricket star vs. the comeback kid: Who will be nuclear-armed Pakistan's next leader?
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 19 people were killed in an explosion on a bus traveling in the North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday.

There were conflicting reports about what may have caused the blast, with some government officials saying it was a terrorist act while others insisting the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.

The bus was taking passengers from Bannu district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Mir Ali subdivision in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region.

Two government officials in Mir Ali subdivision said a suicide bomber was traveling in the bus from Bannu to Mir Ali and it seemed he mistakenly triggered his explosives-laden jacket and caused the blast.

Government officials said the passenger coach was completely destroyed by the blast.

A government official said none of the passengers survived.

"Only pieces of their bodies were collected from spot of the blast and were beyond recognition," the official said.

The official said there was a gas cylinder installed in the vehicle but that it wouldn't cause a lot of destruction if it were to explode.

A security official said investigators were trying to determine the nature of the blast, but said it seemed to be a terrorist act.

Rehan Khan / EPA

People look over the scene of a bomb blast near a polling station in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistanis voted in a landmark test of democracy on Saturday and were quickly reminded of the militant violence that plagues the country, with election-related bombings in several cities.

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An attack on the office of the Awami National Party (ANP) in the commercial capital, Karachi, killed 10 people and wounded 30, followed by another blast minutes later.

An explosion destroyed an ANP office in the northwest. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Television channels also reported an explosion in the city of Peshawar.

Pakistan's Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, have killed over 110 people in election-related violence since April. The group, which is fighting to topple the U.S.-backed government, regards the elections as un-Islamic.

The election will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.

The people hope the polls will deliver change and ease frustrations with the Taliban, a feeble economy, widespread corruption, chronic power cuts and crumbling infrastructure.

"The problems facing the new government will be immense, and this may be the last chance that the country's existing elites have to solve them," said Anatol Lieven, a professor at King's College, London, and author of a book on Pakistan.

"If the lives of ordinary Pakistanis are not significantly improved over the next five years, a return to authoritarian solutions remains a possibility," Lieven wrote in a column in the Financial Times.

Disenchantment with the two mainstream parties appeared this week to have brought a late surge of support for former cricket star Imran Khan, who could end up holding the balance of power.

Khan, 60, is in a hospital after injuring himself in a fall at a party rally, which may also win him sympathy votes.

With no clear-cut winner, weeks of haggling to form a coalition will follow, which would raise the risk that the government is undermined by instability.

That would only make it more difficult to reverse the disgust with politicians felt among the country's 180 million people and drive through the reforms needed to revive its near-failed economy.

Power cuts can last more than 10 hours a day in some places, crippling key industries like textiles, and a new International Monetary Fund bailout may be needed soon.

The Taliban have focused their anger on secular-leaning parties like the outgoing coalition led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the ANP. Candidates, fearful of being assassinated, have avoided open campaigning.

The army stayed out of politics during the five years of the last government, but it still sets the nuclear-armed country's foreign and security policy and will steer the thorny relationship with Washington as NATO troops withdraw from neighboring Afghanistan next year.

The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looks set to win the most seats in the one-day vote. But Khan could deprive Sharif of a majority and dash his hopes for a return to power 14 years after he was ousted in a military coup, jailed and later exiled.

Pakistan's best-known sportsman, who led a playboy lifestyle in his younger days, Khan is seen by many as a refreshing change from the dynastic politicians who long relied on a patronage system to win votes and are often accused of corruption.

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Noorullah Shirzada / AFP - Getty Images

Afghanistan border policemen take their positions on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Goshta district of Nangarhar province on May 7, 2013.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Tensions along the volatile border between Afghanistan and Pakistan have plunged relations between the two U.S. allies to their lowest level in years just before Pakistan’s general election.

Last week, Afghans accused their neighbor of trespassing on their sovereignty by building military checkpoints in the Goshta district of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarahar province. 

Afghan military officials said they waited for a diplomatic resolution that never came -- resulting in clashes between Afghan and Pakistani military forces. One Afghan border police officer was killed in the fighting last week.

The clashes have sparked an outcry by the Afghan people as thousands have taken to the streets throughout the country protesting the alleged Pakistani breach with chants of “Death to Pakistan.”  The crowds have hailed the dead border police officer as a martyr. 

“The protection of this land is the duty of every single Afghan,” Sayed Agha Sakhizada, a protester in Laghman province said. “For me, the protection of my land and my religion is the same. I will stand alongside my security forces to fight against these violations on my land and even sacrifice myself for this holy fight to protect my country.”

Rahmat Gul / AP

Afghans chant slogans against Pakistan during a demonstration in Kochkin area on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, May 6, 2013.

The clashes have done something for the Afghan military that years of fighting the Taliban couldn’t do – they have garnered profound support of the Afghan National Security Forces from the general public.

“We are happy that the people of Afghanistan are standing in support of Afghan security forces. This raises the moral of our forces,” said Cmdr. Mohammad Ayoub Husain Khil, acting commander of the border police in Goshta.

“We are satisfied with the support of our people and will defend this soil and the people of this soil till the last breath of our lives.”

Contentious border: Durand Line
President Hamid Karzai pointed the finger at the Pakistanis during a press conference last Saturday. He accused them of trying to strong-arm the Afghans into accepting the Durand Line -- a contentious border between the two nations that was set by the British and an Afghan king in 1893 but was set to expire 100 years later. Afghans have always wanted the land back and Pakistanis say it is part of their country now.

Karzai said the Pakistanis are trying “to force Afghans to start negotiations on the Durand Line and accept the Durand Line as an international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But they will never succeed to achieve any of these motives. The people of Afghanistan have never accepted the Durand Line since it was created by the British.”

Meantime, the dispute is making for some unusual bedfellows.

According to local officials and community leaders in Kunar, the Taliban have sent them messages saying they are ready to fight against the Pakistani forces and push them back into their land. 

The Taliban’s message said: “We have always defended Islam and our country. And even if today foreigners are attacking Afghanistan, we are ready to fight them back.”

Related links

• Afghan and Pakistani forces clash in deadly border firefight
• More NBC News coverage from Afghanistan
• More NBC News coverage from Pakistan

A former playboy cricketer and an ex-prime minister who was deposed by a military coup and then exiled will square off in a historic general election this weekend as Pakistan elects a new leader.

When Pakistanis head to the polls on Saturday, it will mark the first time in the country's 65-year history that a legislature has completed its term, paving the way for the possibility of a peaceful transition of power from one civilian government to the next.

The nuclear-armed country has been ruled by the military for half its history. Secretary of State John Kerry has met Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani twice in the last five weeks, underlining how crucial Washington views the relationship. However, the 2011 raid to kill Osama bin Laden and U.S. drone strikes targeting militants have damaged ties.

Of the nation's 90 million potential voters, 40 million could be voting for the first time. The general election comes as the country battles domestic insurgencies, a floundering economy, and unpredictability across the border in Afghanistan. 

In a campaign punctuated by violence -- including the gunpoint kidnapping of a leading politician's son at a political rally on Thursday -- uncertainty still prevails. Here is a look at the key players in this weekend's contest.

TOPPLED, EXILED, RESURRECTED? Nawaz Sharif

Once considered a protege of the country's powerful army, Sharif served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister in the 1990s before his relationship with the military deteriorated. He was ousted in a coup and replaced by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999, and exiled to Saudi Arabia.

Polls suggest he could make a comeback in a very close and still shifting contest.

Known to be a religious conservative personally, Sharif's first term in office was marked by efforts to increase the role of Islam in government, including trying to introduce Shariah law through parliament.

Pakistan became a nuclear state during his second term in office. Sharif also built a reputation for launching large-scale, economic initiatives to spur development, including power, transportation, and technology projects.

Aamir Qureshi / AFP/ Getty Images

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waves to supporters during an election campaign meeting in Rawalpindi on Tuesday

Now the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, the 63-year-old finds his base of support in the country's largest, most populous province of Punjab. 

Shamila Chaudhary, former director for Pakistan and Afghanistan at the White House National Security Council, said Sharif was likely to need to build a coalition government, which would help to define his policies.

"When Sharif was last in power, he engaged with the United States at a time when the bilateral relationship was not so heavily defined by terrorism and the war in Afghanistan," said Chaudhary, who is now a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group. "His hands will be tied in how much he can pursue on security cooperation without it being at the expense of the support he will need in parliament to sustain his coalition, if he wins."

Reuters noted that Sharif "has been accused of failing to act against militant groups which have a breeding ground in Punjab" and that is "one of the few major politicians not on the hit-list of Taliban insurgents who have vowed to disrupt the elections."

The Associated Press added:

Sharif's party controlled the government of Pakistan's largest province, Punjab, in 2011 when it turned down more than $100 million in U.S. aid following the raid that killed bin Laden. 

It quoted Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., as saying it appeared unlikely that Sharif would give up the more than $1 billion in American aid Pakistan receives annually if he came to power.

THE SPORTS LEGEND: Imran Khan

The former world-class cricketer and philanthropist has made a 16-year journey to come as close as he's ever been to the top office.

Khan is riding a wave of support for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or Movement for Justice party, particularly among Pakistan's younger voters.

Rehan Khan / EPA

Former cricket star Imran Khan (center) is mobbed by supporters at a rally in Karachi, Pakistan, on Tuesday.

Dismissed in previous campaigns as a non-contender, the charismatic Khan has this time managed to translate his national popularity into support at the polls by selling himself as the anti-establishment man. He's juggled a sometimes-extremist message to appeal to Pakistan's conservative base with a social media campaign to mobilize much of the country's disenfranchised youth.

However, Khan's ideas -- which include the cessation of all hostilities with militants and a halt to CIA drone attacks  -- have earned him the teasing but telling moniker "Taliban Khan" from members of the country's Westernized elite.

A fiery and frenetic campaigner, Khan tumbled from a platform at a rally in Lahore this week, surviving with a few fractures. However, he was forced to suspend his final campaign events.

Without a traditional, regional base of support, as the other parties have, the 60-year-old Khan has been forced to carve out inroads into opposition territory. He hopes that will translate into enough votes to remain influential in a possible coalition government.

A survey released on Wednesday showed 24.98 percent of voters nationally planned to vote for Khan's party, just a whisker behind Sharif's PML-N.

Khan began his campaign by refusing to join any coalition, then softened his stance to say he'd consider coalitions with smaller parties. His position could evolve again in the coming days.

"Khan has made himself a force to be reckoned with, he can't be dismissed as he was in the past," Chaudhary said. "They [his party] may not get that many seats, but they've made the PML-N and PPP (Pakistan People's Party) worried about their chances."

Khan, who helped Pakistan win the cricket World Cup in 1992, has vowed to crack down on corruption.

His party's manifesto says "Pakistan will endeavor to have a constructive relationship with the U.S. based on Pakistan's sovereign national interests and international law, not on aid dependency." 

THE POTENTIAL KINGMAKER: Asif Ali Zardari

The widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto inherited her family's political legacy and base of support in the southern province of Sindh.

He led the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) party to power after his wife's assassination in 2007 and became the president of Pakistan.

Vahid Salemi / AP

Asif Ali Zardari

The party's government made history as the first to complete a five-year term in office, but was marred by accusations of ineptitude and corruption as the country spiraled into an energy shortage, economic crisis, and security strife.

Zardari fought off several attempts to unsettle or unseat him, led in part by the country's Supreme Court which sought to revive old corruption charges. His government, and party, suffered several high-level shake-ups as a result, but Zardari managed to survive.

It is Zardari's skill as a shrewd politician and his ability to cut deals with other parties that some believe could make him, and his party, key influencers in forming the next government of Pakistan, even if they don't win a majority.

"The bottom line is, you can't actually discount the PPP," Chaudhary said. "People think they're done, they're unpopular, they did a bad job, but they'll have a fair amount of influence because of their relationship with other parties."

The Associated Press noted: 

Zardari and the PPP have always struggled with a domestic perception that they are American stooges — an unpopular position in a country where anti-American sentiment is widespread. The view from Washington, though, has been that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat militancy within its borders. 

CONNECTORS & DISRUPTORS:

In a tight election where the margin of victory may be slim, the weeks that follow the vote will be the most important, as party leaders negotiate to form a functioning coalition government.

Reuters explained:

Voters will elect 272 members of the National Assembly and to win a simple majority, a party would have to take 137 seats. 

However, the election is complicated by the fact that a further 70 seats, most reserved for women and members of non- Muslim minorities, are allocated to parties on the basis of their performance in the contested constituencies. To have a majority of the total of 342, a party would need 172. 

In a coalition scenario, second-tier operators like Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (leader of the PML(Q) party) and Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (leader of the JUI(F) party) could become key dealmakers and both have histories of working with players along the entire political spectrum to maintain political relevancy.

Smaller parties like the MQM, led by leader-in-exile Altaf Hussain, and the ANP, headed by Pashtun leader Asfandyar Wali, have been relentlessly targeted by the Pakistani Taliban, and could throw off the balance of power by boycotting the elections or the political dealmaking that follows as a form of protest.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Related:

• From alcohol to kites: An A to Z guide to the Islamic Republic of 'Banistan'
• Prosecutor probing ex-PM's assassination slain in 'targeted killing'
• Full Pakistan coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Fri May 10, 2013 3:38 AM EDT

The son of former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was kidnapped at gunpoint during an election rally on Thursday, officials said.

Ali Haider Gilani, whose father was prime minister from 2008 to 2012, was seized by several armed men in Multan in central Pakistan. The Gilanis are members of the liberal PPP party.

Punjab government official Rao Iftikhar Ahmad told The Associated Press that one of Gilani's guards was killed and five people were wounded in the attack. The figures could not immediately be confirmed by NBC News.

"One of the gunmen grabbed Haider who had blood splashed on his trousers," witness Shehryar Ali told Pakistani television broadcaster Geo News. 

An intelligence official said that authorities were hunting "four to five kidnappers in a black car."

Fawad Hussein / EPA, file

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is seen here in 2011. His son was kidnapped on Thursday.

It was not immediately known who abducted Gilani or why.  The Pakistani Taliban has vowed to disrupt Saturday's election.

Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said that candidates, party leaders and activists would be attacked by dozens of suicide bombers and other fighters.

The militants have warned people to stay away from polling stations on the day of the vote and warned government officials not to carry out election duties.

Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, has written a letter to the Election Commission, demanding better security for liberal parties.

Since April, the Pakistani Taliban have killed more than 70 people in attacks targeting three major political parties, preventing many of their most prominent candidates from openly campaigning, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The Taliban say they are targeting "secular" parties and that elections only "serve the interests of infidels and enemies of Islam," the news service said. Right-wing religious parties that have joined the election race have been largely left alone by the militants.

On Tuesday, former cricket star Imran Khan, who is now the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was injured in a fall from a platform at an election rally.

Saturday's election will mark the first time in the country's 65-year history that a legislature has completed its term, paving the way for the possibility of a peaceful transition of power from one civilian government to the next.

NBC News' Mushtaq Yusufzai and Ian Johnston, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Related:

• Explosion kills at least 25 people at Islamist party election rally in Pakistan
• Prosecutor probing Pakistan ex-PM's assassination slain in 'targeted killing'
• Pakistani politician Imran Khan hurt in fall at political rally

Omer Saleem / EPA, file

Office workers experience a prolonged power cut in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 25.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's prime minister has decided to ban the use of air conditioners by government offices to help cope with the country's pervasive energy shortages.

A statement issued Wednesday from Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso's office says the ban will go into effect on May 15 and will continue until the energy situation improves.

Pakistan faces serious shortages of electricity and natural gas.

The ban could make for a very uncomfortable summer since temperatures in Pakistan often reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

The prime minister also issued a summer dress code recommending light-colored, loose-fitting clothing to help combat the heat.

The Associated Press

Related:

• From alcohol to kites: An A to Z guide to the Islamic Republic of 'Banistan'
• Full Pakistan coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 4:05 AM EDT

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Sports-star-turned-politician Imran Khan was injured after he plunged from a forklift that was taking him up to a stage at a political rally just days before Pakistan’s parliamentary election.

A video of the fall showed Khan and three security guards standing precariously on the platform as it rose up, then suddenly toppling over at about 7 p.m. local time Tuesday (10 a.m. ET) at the rally in Lahore. Police estimate that Khan and his bodyguards fell from a height of 20-25 feet.

Athar Hussain / Reuters

Imran Khan, seen speaking to supporters in Karachi on Tuesday, was later injured in a fall at another political rally.

Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was then taken to a local hospital for treatment.

"He fell, hit his head on the grill, and started bleeding. The chairman has been taken to a hospital, please pray for his health," said a message on Khan's Facebook page.

Thousands of well-wishers gathered outside Shaukat Khanum Hospital. Local police have ruled out foul play.

A doctor at the hospital said Khan is in stable condition and in good spirits. He suffered no internal injuries and his spinal chord is OK, but he did sustain a fracture in his back. He will be kept at least overnight. 

The May 11 election is being held amid tight security because of the risk of being attacked by the Pakistani Taliban.

Since April, the Pakistani Taliban have killed more than 70 people in attacks targeting three major political parties, preventing many of their most prominent candidates from openly campaigning, Reuters reported.

The Taliban say they are targeting "secular" parties and that elections only "serve the interests of infidels and enemies of Islam," the news service said.

However, they have mostly not attacked Khan's party, which advocates shooting down U.S. drones and withdrawing the Pakistani military from insurgency-infested Pashtun areas along the Afghan border, Reuters said. Right-wing religious parties that have joined the election race have also been largely left alone by the militants.

Khan made his name playing cricket, a hugely popular sport in Pakistan. He is regarded as one of the best players in the history of the game.

His political campaign has made great use of social media; his Facebook page currently has 822,000 likes.

NBC News' Ian Johnston and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Can social media propel 'rock star' politician Imran Khan to power in Pakistan?

Pakistan halts anti-drone protest led by ex-cricketer Imran Khan