I am a leader like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela… Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan gave this challenge to the Shahbaz government

In the midst of PTI workers who are facing more than 100 cases in their country and leaving the party one by one, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has come to the fore. He has described himself as a leader like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Imran Khan has insisted that he and his party are capable of returning to power in Pakistan’s next elections despite mounting criminal charges against them. Imran Khan made this claim while comparing himself with great leaders like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. The former prime minister was speaking to The Independent about the political crisis that has gripped Pakistan since his dramatic arrest inside the premises of the Islamabad High Court. Imran’s supporters launched massive protests across the country and included unprecedented fury against the country’s all-powerful military.

The government and the military have cracked down on Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, with thousands of its activists arrested and Khan’s residence once surrounded by police. While some of his most senior colleagues and former ministers have left the party. The party is under pressure from the authorities, facing the threat of arrest and imprisonment. After his release from detention, Khan spent several weeks making rounds of the courts for fresh bail orders. Imran Khan said the efforts of his lawyers could only be successful for so long. Imran Khan said that I know they will put me in jail again. It is a matter of time because they fear that if I am out, it will strengthen my party.

The former cricket star says nearly 170 criminal cases have been filed against him since he was ousted from office in a no-confidence motion, with charges ranging from corruption, murder, arson and blasphemy to sedition and terrorism. He denies all the allegations against him. He joked that he is looking forward to reaching the double century soon.