Imran Khan plans to win polls from jail

SIALKOT, Feb 04 (BBC): From prime minister to prison in less than two years, Imran Khan and his party have fallen dramatically from political grace. But the PTI says it has not given up its belief that it can win this week's general election in Pakistan, despite its founder being jailed in cases he says are politically motivated, and barred from running for office.
The party is aiming to overcome the authorities' crackdown with the help of a social media fightback - and new candidates, many of them untested.
Rehena Dar is being swept along the back roads of Sialkot, past the posters of her face plastered on the narrow street corners of this city in Punjab province. Her way is cleared by the sound of beating drums as rose petals shower her from above.
If becoming a politician unexpectedly in her 70s has taken her by surprise, she doesn't show it for a second. The fears which have driven many of her fellow candidates underground or out of politics seem to have been shrugged off.
"It is very good that the proud sons and daughters, brothers and mothers of my city Sialkot are standing with me," she shouts with the confidence of someone who has worked the electorate for years.
"I am with Imran Khan and I will stay with Imran Khan. If I am left alone in public, I will still carry Imran Khan's flag and take to the streets."
A quick glance around certainly indicates that is true. The small crowd that has gathered around Mrs Dar hold Imran Khan's image aloft, while flags for his PTI flutter overhead.
And yet, Mrs Dar is not a PTI candidate. Instead, she - like all their candidates - is technically an independent, following the electoral commission's decision to strip the PTI of its cricket bat symbol.
It may seem a small decision, but in a country with an illiteracy rate of 58%, having a recognisable symbol the candidates use on the ballot paper is crucial. Now each candidate has their own alternative symbol; Mrs Dar's is a baby's cot, others have items ranging from a kettle to a saxophone.
The decision is just one of the myriad barriers that the PTI says have been placed in its way as it gears up for the election on 8 February.
But it has continued to fight. Whether it be candidates pounding the streets like Mrs Dar, or technology that transports a leader from a jail cell to the head of a rally, it's proving it's willing to throw everything it has into this battle.