Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former prime minister, has declared that his party will “sweep” the elections whether he is in jail or not.
The former prime minister said he does not know if he will be disqualified from running for office, but that it also “doesn’t matter” because he thinks his party is experiencing a popularity wave that is “unprecedented” in Pakistan’s history. He was speaking in an interview with American media outlet National Public Radio (NPR).
Former cricket player Khan served as prime minister from 2018 until 2022, when he was removed by a vote of the parliament.
Since then, he has continued to push for an early election by holding protests across the nation.
Shehbaz Sharif, who took over as prime minister after him, rejected his demand and declared that the election would go off as planned later this year.
“Exciting times here.” From inside what he called “fortress Lahore,” the house where supporters surround him, @ImranKhanPTI tells @NPR of his hope to make it to elections this fall. With @diaahadid https://t.co/rg2PZyMNDr
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) March 24, 2023
Elections are a terrifying thought for the government, which is what is happening. They are terrified that we will win the election. Since I survived an assassination attempt and am extremely fortunate to still be alive, they are trying everything to remove me from the picture, including assassination, said Khan, who survived an assassination attempt on a long march last year.
In response to the question of whether he is certain that an election will be held at the scheduled time, Khan said it was his main concern because, according to the country’s constitution, polls had to be held within 90 days after the dissolution of its two provincial governments.
When asked what would happen if his party, the PTI, regained power, Khan made reference to the charges made by the opposition that he repressed the press and other critics when he had that position in the past.
“Steve, my last three and a half years here have been the most liberal three and a half years ever. in contrast to the past, when we routinely meddled in the judiciary. We never caused any harm to the media.
