LAHORE: Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed has alleged the PML-N government has allocated an 'initial secret fund' of Rs1,000 million to block the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's 'Azadi March' on Aug 14.

Talking to reporters at the party's secretariat here on Sunday, he said a decision to allocate the money was taken at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Murree on the demand by some bureaucrats and ministers.

He said finance minister Ishaq Dar had been tasked with arranging the funds on an emergency basis.

Mr Rashid said the contractors who benefited from the present regime, traders and industrialists had been asked to contribute to the 'fund'.

The PTI leader advised the traders and industrialists of Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and other towns of Punjab to beware of "the looters' as their exit was now a writing on the wall".

He said traders and industrialists had always supported the elite and this time they should support the 'street class' for the sake of democracy, economic prosperity and development of the country.

Answering a question about Rana Mashood's statement on by-elections, he said such a situation would never arise if the PTI MNAs resigned as public did not came out or responded to PML-N calls when the party's government was removed on Oct 12, 1999. This time too no one would come out to save this "corrupt" government, he added.

He invited the PML-N workers to join hands with the PTI as Imran Khan was the person who could and would bring 'real democracy' in the country.

Published in Dawn, Aug 4th, 2014