Pakistan’s Imran Khan Claims PM Undermines Flood Relief Fundraising As Damage Hits $30 Billion

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who concluded a two-day solidarity visit to Pakistan on Sunday, has estimated that the floods have caused more than $30 billion in economic damage. Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz Sharif has called for “infinite resources” to be donated from foreign sources to help the flood-ravaged nation.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of blacking out a telethon that he organized to raise funds for the victims of the devastating floods on Sunday.

In a series of tweets on Monday, Khan stated that authorities not only “pressured” television stations into not broadcasting the televised fundraising appeal, but also “threatened” local cable operators.

“This shows how petrified they are of our rising popularity amongst the nation. Also, they know no one trusts them with their money given their record of loot and plunder. So, they sought to deny fundraising to aid flood victims just to get back at me and my party. Unbelievable callousness,” Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Party, said in a social media post.

According to the PTI, the telethon managed to raise $22.4 million in aid for the flood victims, despite the government’s attempt to censor it.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that the floods have affected more than 33 million people across the country and left nearly 1,400 people dead. The provinces of Sindh and Balochistan have been hit the worst.

Over the past weeks, Khan has repeatedly accused Sharif of trying to “censor” his public meetings which, the cricketer-turned-politician claims, is due to the fact that he continues to enjoy significant popularity in the country.

Media watchdog Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority banned television channels from broadcasting Khan’s speeches last month, arguing that the ex-leader’s remarks could “disturb peace and tranquillity”.

Last week, Khan said that the government was also trying to censor the live-streaming of his speeches on Youtube.

Khan has been holding rallies attended by tens of thousands of his supporters across major Pakistani cities since he was ousted from power in a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly in April. He has claimed that the motion was tabled at the behest of the US, which reportedly objected to Islamabad’s “independent” foreign policy, going on to call the current PM a “stooge” of the US.

Khan’s colleagues have also been critical of Sharif’s response to the floods, with some even alleging that the humanitarian aid hasn’t reached the intended recipients.

Sharif, meanwhile, has accused Khan of playing politics amid the ongoing floods and asked him to suspend his rallies until rehabilitation efforts are underway. Khan has rejected the appeal, arguing that his goal is to win Pakistan’s “complete independence” by removing Sharif from power.