LONDON - Pressure from judiciary won’t influence the outcome of upcoming general elections this year, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday, adding he hoped the elections would be free and fair.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party from holding office for life amid an ongoing corruption trial.

Sharif and his family have called the corruption proceedings a conspiracy and hinted at intervention by the military, but opponents have hailed them as a rare example of the rich and powerful being held accountable. The military denies any such intervention.

"We hope elections will be fair and free as the country can't afford any crisis as a result, but recently there are some concerns due to the judicial activism and how the national accountability bureau has been pursuing cases against only one party," the minister told Reuters, speaking at Pakistan's High Commission in London.

He also highlighted complaints by media groups that they had not been allowed to broadcast. But he did not think such activities would affect the election's outcome: "In the past we have seen attempts to influence the process but when millions of people vote it is very difficult to control the outcome."

The minister said the elections would most likely be held in the last week of July and he expected the PML-N to win on the back of its economic record.

He expects a GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent in 2019 and 6.4 percent in 2020, up from 5.8 percent in 2018 according to provisional estimates from Pakistan's Bureau of Statistics.

But a surge in imports, in part driven by purchases of machinery for the Chinese Belt and Road projects, has widened Pakistan's current account deficit and prompted analysts to suggest the country may need an IMF bailout in the coming 12 months. Iqbal said he did not think Pakistan would go to the IMF this year but would bridge the funding gap via other means, such as improved exports performance, economic growth, more foreign direct investment and remittances by Pakistani nationals overseas.

He was also hopeful that a tax amnesty aimed at broadening the government's revenue base, which will run until end-June, will be a major contributor to rebuilding foreign exchange reserves, which have been depleted.

Iqbal said about $2 billion could be repatriated from overseas as part of the amnesty. But in terms of tapping international capital markets, he said that no decision had been taken yet on whether Pakistan would issue more eurobonds this year, following $2.5 billion of issuance in December.

However, the prospect of Pakistan being placed back on a global terrorist financing watchlist could cause real financial pain to the economy.

Iqbal said if Pakistan was put back on such a list and there were economic consequences, its security operations would suffer, as it would deny Pakistan the resources to fight militants.

He added that attempts by Western countries to impose conditions on Pakistan's agenda in fighting terrorism were unhelpful as it allowed extremists to argue the government was acting as a stooge of foreign powers: "It denies us our space to move against these groups in full force."

While participating in Panel Discussion on Countering Violent Extremism at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, Iqbal Wednesday said the government wanted to give peace and stability to the coming generations to ensure sustained economic development in the country.

Pakistan would be happy to share its experiences of success in addressing violent extremism and terrorism, he said and added extremism and terrorism could never be defeated unless there was an understanding of why and how they spread.

The other speakers included Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth, the Kenyan Head of National Counter Terrorism Centre, Amb Dr Martin Kimani, the Nigerian Coordinator Counter Terrorism Center, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Stuart Richard Young MP and Mark Albon, the Head of the CVE Unit in the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Office.

While affirming Pakistan’s support for the cause, the minister observed that at a time when global challenges like climate change, terrorism, extremism, and inequalities were staring us in the face in an ever-connected world, global politics had become fractured and dysfunctional and that there was a need for collaborative and accommodative efforts, rather than finger pointing.

He stressed any effective policy to counter violent extremism would require a comprehensive approach based on an objective and considerate understanding of both internal and external root causes of the rising extremism in the world, including unresolved international disputes, negative and stereotyping media campaigns against communities, religions and nations.

Briefing the participants about Pakistan’s journey from being the victim of terror and extremism to a victor over these menaces, he highlighted the commitment and sacrifices of Pakistani nation in the fight against terrorism.

He said, "I am proud to stand as part of Pakistani nation, which should unshakable courage and determination in defeating the terrorists. He said Pakistan is facing legacy of Soviet war in Afghanistan alone. The western countries walked away after the Soviet withdrawal leaving behind burden of millions of refugees, drugs and Kalashnikovs. Pakistan has faced these challenges single handedly and in the process paid a big price.

Speaking of measures undertaken by Pakistan, the minister briefed the participants about the National Action Plan and the practical steps taken by the Government to counter terrorist violent extremist elements, including curbing activities of proscribed organizations through operations against militants in settled and tribal areas by destroying their infrastructure, training facilities and networks complete ban on glorification of terrorists and terrorism on Media - print, electronic and social. Steps against religious persecution, Relentless Intelligence Based Operations against sympathizers and supporters of extremism.

Crackdown against hate speeches and material through NACTA “Chaukas” App; Crack down on finances of proscribed organizations and freezing of their accounts PTA’s closure of websites of all proscribed organizations registration of cases against people involved in disseminating messages of hatred and violence and monitoring of proscribed individuals groups, and travel ban on them.