NEW YORK: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif has complained of a campaign against him, as he fights corruption charges in courts ahead of the elections.

“This is a battle of democracy versus tyranny,” he said in an interview with WSJ. Meanwhile, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, an independent think tank in Islamabad, said, “If institutions start interfering in each other’s work, it will lead to an anarchic situation.

“The Journal also noted that Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician who brought the Supreme Court case that led to the former prime minister’s ouster, was hoping that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party can break the country’s two-party system in the coming election with a promise to clean up corruption.

The newspaper also pointed out that “A March 2018 survey by Gallup Pakistan, a pollster, showed Nawaz Sharif’s party still enjoyed a double-digit lead over Khan’s party, its nearest rival.”

The newspaper quoted Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Saqib Nisar as saying that all the judges on the court would resign if they felt democracy was threatened. “We are totally independent,” Chief Justice Nisar said. “We will fight for your rights.”

The newspaper also noted the spokesman for the military, Maj Gen. Asif Ghafoor’s denial of any political interference by the military and added that the army “stands with all state institutions for whatever support is required under the constitution.”

It said that the case against Nawaz Sharif is due to conclude by mid-May, before elections expected in late July or August. His daughter and political heir, Maryam, faces the same charge, which she also denies, it pointed out.