PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub has said that only the public has the “authority” to declare his party “anti-state”, adding that they chose to vote for the PTI.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said: “We are patriotic Pakistanis. The [right to give the] certificate of [being] anti-state is neither in the hands of the National Assembly speaker nor in anyone else’s.

“The authority or ability to give this certificate is in the hands of the Pakistani public. Pakistan’s public has sent us here (National Assembly),” he added.

The PTI-backed MNA also challenged his political rivals to win if elections were conducted again.