LAHORE: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said that the “hidden forces” will be defeated in the general elections 2018 as they can not compete with the people of Pakistan. “We have introduced and implemented policies that no government in the world can, but still some philosophers criticise us on TV networks,” Ahsan said while speaking to the media outside the Lahore High Court (LHC). The interior minister appeared before the LHC after a contempt petition was filed against him earlier this week. Speaking to media outside the court, Iqbal said that the “hidden forces” will never be able to succeed in their agendas because the public will defeat them. Iqbal further said that he has never disrespected the courts and will never do so. He added that his remarks about the CJP were “purely based on principles” and that he has presented himself before the LHC because he respects the constitution. Taking jabs at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Ahsan said that the party can not defeat PML-N via elections and hence, is taking the PML-N leaders to court by levelling false allegations against them. He also challenged PTI leader Abrarul Haq to take him to the court over the Iqama, while he also advised the rival parties to avoid using the backdoor to fulfill their agendas.