Imran believes PTI will win elections whether he is in jail or not.

LAHORE -- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has said that whether he is in jail or not, his party will "sweep" the elections.

Speaking during a conversation with American media group National Public Radio (NPR), the former prime minister said he does not know if he will end up getting disqualified or not, but that it also "doesn't matter" because he believes his party has a popularity wave "unprecedented" in Pakistan's history.

Khan, a former cricket star, was prime minister from 2018 until 2022 when he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote. Since then he has been demanding a snap election and holding protest rallies across the country to press his case.

His successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand and said an election would be held as scheduled later this year.

"What is happening is that the government is petrified of elections. They're scared that we're going to win the elections. Therefore, they are trying everything to get me out of the way, including assassination, because I survived an assassination attempt - [and am] very lucky to be alive," said Khan - who survived an assassination attempt during a long march last year.

Commenting on whether he is confident that there will be an election at the appointed time, Khan said that's what his worry was as constitutionally when the country dissolved its two provincial governments, the elections had to be held within 90 days.

When asked what would happen if his party - the PTI - returned to power, making a reference to the Opposition's claims that Khan cracked down on the media and other...