Pakistan expected to get major relief from IMF: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi has predicted that Pakistan is expected to get a major relief from the International Monetary Fund. In an interview on Thursday regarding decision of G-20 countries and IMF to provide debt relief to the developing countries, the minister said about seventy countries including Pakistan will benefit from it. Pakistan is expected to get huge debt relief from May 1, adding that this relief will be for a period of one year. FM Qureshi 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. The foreign minister said this will enable the developing countries to divert their resources to the protection of lives of the people and make their health systems more effective to respond to the challenge. He said this appeal of the prime minister was endorsed by the UN secretary general, the IMF and the G-20 countries. On the other hand, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has supported Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s call for a Global Initiative for debt relief to developing countries. At a regular virtual press briefing in New York, the UN Secretary General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Imran Khan’s initiative is in the same spirit as the secretary-general’s own position. The spokesperson said the UN chief believes that debt relief must be an important part of the response to coronavirus, including immediate waiver on interest payments for the current year. The spokesman said it is important that the limited resources of the world’s poorest countries be used to combat COVID-19 virus. Earlier, PM Imran Khan has called for a “Global Initiative on Debt Relief” in wake of coronavirus pandemic. In a message broadcast to international community, the prime minister said COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented health and economic challenges. He expressed fear that global recession might be worse than the great depression.