Islamabad: Poverty and a weak economy have left Pakistan in a quandary. Situation is that the country (Pakistan) does not have enough money to pay the loan installments. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested the international community for debt suspension till the end of the coronavirus pandemic for low-income and most affected countries as well as cancellation of debt of least developed nations, according to a media report on Friday.
Cash-strapped Pakistan’s economic woes have further worsened due to the coronavirus pandemic and Khan’s government is arranging finances from world bodies, including the International Monetary Fund, to tide over the crisis.
Presenting a 10-point agenda for urgent action before the UN General Assembly special session on COVID-19 on Thursday, Khan underlined the measures the international community needs to take to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The first item on his list is a request for debt suspension till the end of the pandemic for low-income and most affected countries. The second one is “cancellation of debt of least developed countries” that are no longer in a position to repay their loans. Other items on the agenda include restructuring of the public sector debt of other developing countries under an agreed inclusive multilateral framework; a general allocation of special drawing rights of USD 500 billion; expanded concessional financing to lower income countries etc.
The novel coronavirus has so far infected 4,10,000 people and claimed 8,260 lives in Pakistan.
Addressing the session, Khan said the coronavirus pandemic is the most serious global crisis since the Second World War.
Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen ministers are participating in the two-day virtual UNGA special session that began on Thursday.