PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s flood telethon was discussed at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif co-chaired the conference with UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres in a bid to mobilize international support as Pakistan rebuilds after the floods that left more than 1,700 people dead and affected over 30 million others.
PM Shehbaz was accompanied by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, and Information Minister Marryium Aurangzeb.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra was also present at the Geneva moot where he gave a detailed presentation on the KP government’s flood relief efforts in the province and also talked about Imran Khan’s fundraising telethon. KP Finance Minister Taimur Khan gave a detailed breakdown on how the funds were spent.
Finance Minister KP, Taimur Khan @Jhagra, gave a detailed presentation on flood relief efforts in the province, including the application of funds raised by Imran Khan's telethon, at an international conference in Geneva. pic.twitter.com/ayJb7VwB4y
— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) January 10, 2023
Following the devastating floods last year, Imran Khan held three fund-raising telethons for the flood victims. The first telethon raised over Rs5 billion in donations in just 3-hour-long flood telethon. All telethons were a huge success as people from within the country and abroad donated huge amounts towards PTI’s flood relief operations.
Since Imran Khan’s image was displayed on a big screen at the Geneva moot, netizens claim that the former premier is “haunting” the incumbent government at the international conference! Pertinent to mention that the PDM coalition government is often the target of much backlash for ousting Imran Khan through the controversial no-confidence motion.
Read more: PTI’s telethon—proof of Pakistanis’ trust in Imran Khan
On the other hand, there were also claims that Imran Khan’s telethon being discussed at the international conference reaffirms him as a respectable leader.
https://twitter.com/ImranRiazKhan/status/1612676842372071425?s=20&t=aNS63NMQAmwuA8ADUYU_IA
"بےشک اللّه جسے چاہے عزت دے اور جسے چاہے ذلت دے" – القرآن
اللّه کی شان کہ جس شخص کو گرانے پر پورا نظام جتا ہوا ہے، اللّه نے پوری دنیا میں ان سب کے سامنے اس کو نئے سرے سے عزت دے دی۔ 👌 pic.twitter.com/WiEATzC59j
— Maleeha Hashmey (@MaleehaHashmey) January 9, 2023
https://twitter.com/SajeerAlam/status/1612538602742841344?s=20&t=mzCkkaFz1nbhKHEPq9Nk1A
Slide presented by Taimur Jhagra regarding Imran Khan's telethon at the #Geneva International Conference !!! pic.twitter.com/Io5BeQ2Fwo
— Moshida Eman (@MoshidaOfficial) January 9, 2023
While netizens indulge in the optics and irony of Imran Khan’s image being displayed at an international conference led by the incumbent PDM government along with the UN, it is pertinent to mention that during the Geneva on Monday, Pakistan received a huge response from multilateral and bilateral donors from 40 countries who pledged over $10 billion in aid to support the country’s flood relief efforts.
Read more: France pledges $10M in aid for Pakistan’s flood recovery