Imran Khan to give call for Islamabad march after floods ease: Sheikh Rasheed

• PTI Chairman Imran Khan will give a call for a march on Islamabad once the floods recede, says Sheikh Rasheed.
• “Sitambar Sitamgar ho ga (September will be cruel),” he warns.
• He asks how other countries will give aid when the people of the country refuse to give donations to the “money launderers”? 

ISLAMABAD: Lashing out at the coalition government over soaring inflation and its alleged plan to impose further taxes worth Rs608 billion on the masses, former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday announced that PTI Chairman Imran Khan will give a call for march on Islamabad once the floods recede.

The statement by the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief comes a day after Imran Khan, at a public rally in Gujrat, warned the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government to stop the "persecution" of his party workers with court cases, saying that he will otherwise head for the federal capital once more with his supporters.

Taking to his Twitter handle today, Rasheed warned: “Sitambar Sitamgar ho ga (September will be cruel).”

“The IMF struck yet another deal with the government for recovery of Rs608 billion. First they robbed the national treasury and now they are looking to pick people’s pockets,” said the former interior minister.

Referring to the flood situation in Sindh, Sheikh Rasheed said that the flash floods have "opened the eyes" of the people of Sindh. “The floods have destroyed the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) reputation,” he said.

He asked how other countries will give aid to a nation where the people refuse to donate to "these money launderers”?

Khan’s aide said that people are not able to pay electricity bills and buy petrol "and yet the government is planning to increase taxes".

'Will come to Islamabad again'

A day earlier, former prime minister Imran Khan warned the government to stop the "persecution" of his party workers otherwise he will again march on Islamabad.  

He said the government would have "no place to hide" in the event he comes to Islamabad.

Addressing a public gathering in Gujrat, Imran decried the government's handling of the issues plaguing the economy. He said" "We [the PTI government] were also in the IMF [programme] but our government controlled the prices."

"A charge was levelled against me that the PTI government sold the country to the IMF," he said. "However, today's inflation has reached 45%. Now, we ask why petrol is so expensive. And, they say they did so at the IMF's behest."

Imran Khan also blasted the PDM leaders. He said those who protested against the PTI government in the name of inflation "have come [into power] to end their cases, not to end inflation".

"The match has entered a crucial moment," the PTI chief said, adding that "the PDM cannot win this match no matter what it tries".