Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said in the event that his party is banned, he will float a new political party to contest the upcoming general elections and will win the elections, Dawn reported citing Nikkei Asia.
Dawn is a Pakistan English daily.
In the wake of the violent nationwide protests on May 9 and the subsequent clampdown on the protesters and the PTI, many government figures had called for a ban on the party.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said banning the PTI was the only solution.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said a move to that effect was being considered and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also said his party will not resist any move to impose a ban on the PTI.
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Questioned on the impact of a possible ban on his electoral future by Nikkei Asia, Imran said, “If they remove the party then we will form a party with a new name and still win the elections.”
{{/usCountry}}Questioned on the impact of a possible ban on his electoral future by Nikkei Asia, Imran said, “If they remove the party then we will form a party with a new name and still win the elections.”
{{/usCountry}}Imran was quoted saying that “even if they disqualify me and throw me in jail, the party will still win”.
The PTI chief emphasised to the outlet that his base of supporters “remains intact”, claiming that the national politics had “fundamentally changed”.
On the continued crackdown on his party, Imran said the government was “still trying to break it through intimidation”.