'Stop us if you can'

Pakistani cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan's party yesterday vowed to oust the country's "corrupt" rulers, as the nuclear-armed state announced it will hold general elections on July 25.

The poll will bring to a head political tensions that have been building since former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court on corruption charges and later barred from politics for life.

Khan is hoping to achieve a years-long dream of leading the country as its prime minister, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is the main challenger to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which was headed by Sharif until his ban.

PTI leaders have said they are confident they will be able to defeat the PML-N.

"The Pakistani nation... can see the dawn of a new Pakistan, which will not be ruled by the corrupt," the party said in a statement posted Sunday on Twitter along with a graphic that read "Mafia's Game Over".

"Stop us if you can," it said in another tweet.

The current government, led by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, is expected to hand over power to a caretaker administration in the coming days.

PTI has vowed to fight corruption, presenting itself as a polar opposite of what it calls status-quo politicians.

Since he was ousted, Sharif and the PML-N have become increasingly vocal in their confrontation with the country's powerful military establishment and the courts, claiming there is a conspiracy afoot to reduce the party's power.

Sharif was the 15th prime minister in Pakistan's seven-decade history -- roughly half of it under military rule -- to be removed before completing a full term.

The country saw its first ever democratic transfer of power following elections in 2013, which the PML-N won by a landslide.

Despite the numerous court rulings against the PML-N, the party has won a string of recent by-elections, proving it will likely remain a powerful force.