COVID-19: Pakistan gets US$1.4 billion relief financing to combat coronavirus as death toll rises to 128

Dubai: As coronavirus related deaths continues to increase in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday welcomed the debt relief measures by G-20 countries, IMF and the World Bank for Pakistan and other developing countries.

His remarks came after the his Finance Advisor Dr Hafeez shaikh informed the Prime Minister about the planned approval of an additional US$1.4 billion concessionary financing from IMF to deal with economic impact of Coronavirus.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had called for a ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for developing countries amid coronavirus crisis in order to ‘promote coordinated health and economic response.’

According to the World Bank report, Pakistan is entering recession due to the impact of COVID-19. The economic situation will get worse as the Prime Minister extended the lockdown until April 28. He has already announced $8 billion stimulus to feed the poor people and to give relief to businesses.

Coronavirus cases

The confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has risen to 6919 on Thursday with 128 deaths and 1645 recoveries of patients. Punjab is the worst-hit province with maximum number of 3291 cases followed by 2008 in Sindh, 912 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 280 in Balochistan, 237 in Gilgit Baltistan, 145 in Islamabad and 46 in Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

Foreign Miniser briefing

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan is expected to get debt relief from May 1.

The foreign minister recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had appealed to the world leaders and institutions to restructure loans of the developing countries to cope with the coronavirus challenge.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also supported Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for a Global Initiative for debt relief to developing countries, amid coronavirus outbreak, according to ARY TV.

At a regular virtual press briefing in New York, the Spokesman of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric said Imran Khan’s initiative is in the same spirit as the Secretary-General’s own position.

One-year relief to Islamabad

Earlier, Qureshi said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to give a one-year relief to Islamabad, keeping in view the country’s struggle against the coronavirus pandemic.

These developments might pave the way for debt rescheduling for Pakistan for the next two years as Islamabad desperately looks for any such facility to create much-needed fiscal space for increasing spending on neglected health sector of the country, according to Geo TV.

The unemployment as projected by all the multilateral lenders as well as by the independent economists will increase pressure on the budgetary side to jack up funding for social safety nets.

$20 billion liquidity

The G20 finance ministers and central bankers endorsed “a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries,” and in the communique following their virtual meeting, said, “All bilateral official creditors will participate in this initiative.”

The initiative will “provide north of $20 billion of immediate liquidity” for poor countries to use “for their health system and support their people facing COVID-19”.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran directed the Ministry for National Food Security to keep a strict vigil on the demand and supply of wheat and other food commodities to avert any shortage during the holy month of Ramzan.

Ensure food supplies

In a meeting with Minister for National Food Security Syed Fakhar Imam, the prime minister said the vigilance was vital to help the government make timely decisions, a PM Office press release said.

The meeting encompassed the steps to curb the smuggling of wheat, fight against the swarms of locusts and the proposals for utilization of quality wheat seeds to achieve quality bumper crop next year.

The prime minister said the government was resolved to curb the smuggling of wheat and other food commodities and was about to promulgate an ordinance to introduce strict punishments to the smugglers and hoarders.

Miza under scanner

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran has reprimanded his Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza for irresponsible behaviour before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and for not apprising it adequately enough about the government’s efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken suo Motu related to the situation arising out of the coronavirus crisis and the steps being taken by the federal government to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The court has been very critical of the measures taken by the government and even recommended the government to remove Dr Mirza from his post for failing to cope with the situation.