Imran urges rich world to give poor countries debt relief amid pandemic

Prime Minster Imran Khan in a special message for the international community and United Nations secretary general on Sunday called for a comprehensive relief package for the developing economies struggling to contain the deadly coronavirus.

He said that saving people from hunger was one of the biggest worries other than dealing with the economic crisis and the pandemic. “I appeal to the world leaders and the secretary general of the United Nations to launch a comprehensive initiative to give debt relief to developing countries so that they can fight the coronavirus,” Khan said.

He said the developing world was trying to save people from the virus on one hand and hunger on the other that was triggered by lockdowns and economic crises. “There is a huge discrepancy between the developed world and the developing world. The US announced a coronavirus relief package of $2.2 trillion for their people, Germany $1 trillion and Japan $1 trillion,” PM Khan said. “In contrast, we have come up with a relief package of $8 billion for our 220 million people,” he said.

The issue the developing world is facing right now is high level of debt. “We do not have the resources to stop the virus and spend the required amount on healthcare services.”

Earlier, Imran Khan in an interview to the Associated Press had expressed fears that the new coronavirus could devastate the economies of developing nations and warned the developed world to "prepare to write off the debts" of the world's poorer countries.

Prime Minister Imran said: "My worry is poverty and hunger. The world community has to think of some sort of a debt write-off for countries like us, which are very vulnerable. That will help us to cope with the coronavirus at least," he said.