Screengrab of the PTI’s fundraising telethon
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday accused the ruling coalition of trying to ‘blackout’ a telethon organized by his party on Sunday night to raise funds for flood relief activities.
“Imported government of cabal of crooks and their handlers stooped to new lows last night when they tried to blackout my telethon for flood relief fundraising,” he alleged in a posting on Twitter. “First they pressured channels not to air telethon. When some channels continued to air telethon they threatened cable operators,” he claimed, reiterating that this “shows” authorities fear the “rising popularity” of the PTI. “They know no one trusts them with their money given their record of loot and plunder,” he claimed. “So they sought to deny fundraising to aid flood victims just to get at me and my party. Unbelievable callousness,” he wrote.
“Despite all this we managed to raise Rs. 5.2 billion in just 2 hours,” he said of the funds pledged during the telethon. “I want to thank everyone who pledged, including our overseas Pakistanis, especially those based in the U.S.,” he added.
According to the PTI, its transmission on Sunday night secured pledges of over $10 million from U.S.-based Pakistanis and more than $100,000 from Canada-based Pakistanis. It said a resident of Attock had pledged Rs. 2.5 million, while Muslim Care U.K. had pledged £30,000 for the former prime minister’s fund.
Similarly, per the PTI, a former European Parliament lawmaker pledged £64,000, while anchor Imran Riaz Khan said he and a group of his friends would contribute Rs. 36 million for flood relief.
It is unclear how much of this pledged amount would materialize as actual donations. According to the PTI chairman, roughly Rs. 3 billion of the Rs. 5 billion pledged during his last telethon have been received thus far. The PTI has also, thus far, not shared how it plans to distribute the funds among flood victims in areas not under its direct control, notably Balochistan and worst-hit Sindh.
In a separate posting on Twitter on Monday afternoon, Khan urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to clarify whether he was responsible for “media gags” on the PTI, including the “blackout” of the telethon. “If you are not responsible for violating our constitutional rights and international commitments on freedom of press and speech, then it is your responsibility to inform nation who is responsible for these actions?” he added.