The United States announced on Friday that it will fund one million dollars to Pakistan for it to fight the novel corona virus.
In Pakistan more than 450 people have been infected with the virus, with the country reporting its first two deaths on Wednesday due to the virus.
The U.S.-Pakistan government partnership is helping fight #COVID19. The U.S. government is responding to #COVID-19 in #Pakistan with initial $1 million in @USAID_Pakistan funding to bolster monitoring & rapid response.
— State_SCA (@State_SCA) March 19, 2020
In a tweet United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells said that the US and Pakistan are longstanding partners in tackling global health challenges.
She further said that the US will provide one million dollars to Pakistan under USAID programme to ‘bolster the monitoring and rapid response against coronavirus’.
PM wanted write-off loans due on Pakistan
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, last week, demanded loans of all the poor countries including Pakistan be waived due to grave situation in the aftermath of noval coronavirus.
In an interview with foreign media, PM said act of waiving loans will help deal with and curb corona virus epidemic. Therefore, international community should deliberate over forgiving debts for poor countries.
He warned if corona virus is spread at large scale in Pakistan, then we have no potential and resources to deal with it.
Calling for lifting restrictions on Iran, PM said this act will help Iran to control corona virus spread. Therefore, restrictions from the corona virus worst affected Iran in Middle East be lifted.
He cautioned corona virus can devastate economies of developing countries. The crisis emanating from corona virus can lead to spawn poverty and hunger in developing countries.
The developed countries should get ready to waive the loans for developing countries, he added.
The international community will have to think to find out some way to write off loans for Pakistan.
Countries like Pakistan are fearing for the worst economic recession in the aftermath of corona virus. This step by the robust economies will help fragile economies to face corona virus crisis.
“We are striving to save Pakistan economy. If corona virus assumes alarming proportion then we will fail in safeguarding fragile economy. Pakistan exports will be affected and there will be upsurge in unemployment.
PM said IMF loan will become impossible economic burden.
Pakistan, India and African countries will have to face equal crisis in the wake of corona virus, he underlined. Pakistan has neither medical facilities nor resources to deal with any major crisis.
Read more: US official lauds Pakistan’s improved Economic Rating by Moody’s
Imran Khan also raised concern over the massacre of Muslims in New Delhi saying the Indian Prime Minister’s Hindu nationalist-led government threatens to disenfranchise hundreds of millions of people through a controversial new citizenship law.
He said the worst nightmare of the world has happened as an extremist and racial party that believes in racial superiority has taken over a country of more than one billion people and also has nuclear weapons.