Samra Haroon Bilour Alleges PTI Collected Millions for Long March Without Providing Full Account

PESHAWAR:Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Samra Haroon Bilour has alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership collected hundreds of millions of rupees from parliamentarians and overseas Pakistanis for its planned long march, but has not provided a complete account of the funds.

Speaking to reporters, Bilour claimed that Shandana Gulzar and Sher Afzal Marwat had previously disclosed that Rs380 million had been received from abroad for a campaign seeking the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.

She said PTI leader Junaid Akbar had also appealed to parliamentarians and party office-bearers to contribute to the campaign, but the total amount collected from them was not known.

Bilour alleged that Rs120 million to Rs130 million was collected from overseas Pakistanis within a single day. She claimed that the account was subsequently frozen, while PTI leader Salman Akram Raja stated on social media that he had no involvement with the funds or the fundraising appeal.

She questioned why the fundraising drive was not stopped when the appeal was initially made and alleged that money was collected from parliamentarians and overseas Pakistanis before the long march was postponed.

The allegations have not been independently verified.

PTI had initially announced September 27 as the date for its long march. However, the party’s political committee later postponed the march for what it described as political reasons.

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi subsequently announced that the PTI long march would now begin from Peshawar on October 4.

The controversy over the alleged fundraising comes as PTI prepares for the rescheduled march and amid continued political tensions between the party and the federal government.