Imran to hold int’l telethon to raise funds for flood affectees

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday announced that he would hold an international telethon to raise funds for flood affectees on Monday night.

"Our senior leadership met and we decided I would do[an] international telethon to raise funds for flood affectees on Monday night," the former premier wrote on his official Twitter handle.

He said that ‘Imran Tigers’, a term he uses for PTI's tiger force, will be activated to volunteer for relief work. "A committee under Sania Nishtar will be set up to identify and coordinate funds allocation based on needs," he added.

Imran clarified that his movement for "real freedom" will continue alongside the flood relief work.

Sources, however, told Express News that the party has decided to postpone scheduled political rallies owing to flood devastations across the country.

Historic monsoon rains and flooding have affected more than 30 million people over the last few weeks across the country. The destruction of infrastructure and breakdown in communication links adds to the difficulties faced by the authorities in rescue and relief efforts in the region.

The government has called on the international community to help as it struggles to cope with the aftermath of torrential rains that have triggered massive floods, killing nearly 1,000 people.

On Friday during his visit to the flood-hit areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Imran announced the construction of 10 more dams in the province to avoid the recurrence of the devastation caused by the ongoing super deluge in the province.

Also read: Imran announces 10 more dams to avert deluges

Imran visited Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts and interacted with the flood victims at a relief camp set up at the Ratta Kulachi Sports Complex. Accompanied by K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, the former PM reviewed the relief and rehabilitation activities in the affected areas.

“We can easily store water if we had dams,” the former prime minister said. “A dam should also be built on Mount Sulaiman. The sole solution to prevent the catastrophes caused by flood is to construct dams.”

Imran said that current floods were more destructive than those in 2010, adding that Sindh and Balochistan were the most-affected provinces by rains and floods. He directed the party's volunteers to help and serve the flood-affected people.