Prime Minister Imran Khan establishes Corona Relief Fund, Tiger Force

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the establishment of Corona Relief Fund and Tiger Force on Monday. In his address to the nation, he said that an account will be opened in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the Corona Relief Fund. “The person depsoting any amount in the account will not be questioned from Wednesday. The depositors will be given tax waiver if they show the amount in their tax returns. We will establish a monthly fund for the unemployed from this money,” he said. The prime minister said that the government will need the money if the epidemic prolongs. “So far as China has been the most successful that remained successful in the fight against coronavirus. It controlled the virus by clamping a lockdown on about 20 million people,” he said. He said that Tiger Force will provide food items to the people and informan them about self-isolation. “The State Bank of Pakistan will provide loans to the institutions retaining their employees,” he said. Imran Khan said that the government cannot alone fight against coronavirus. “We will have to jointly overcome coronavirus,” he added. He said that Pakistan’s problem is that about 25 percent people live below the poverty line. “20 percent people live around the poverty line and they can come down with single blow. If we imposed a lockdown and cannot take care of those people, the lockdown will not succeed. This war cannot be won only through resources,” he said. The prime minister said that he wants to tell his people that they will have to win the war with a strategy. “The biggest question is that whether we will be able to provide the people with food in the areas where we clamped the lockdown,” he said. He said that they had given the biggest the relief package in the history of the country, which amounts to US$8 billion. “To the contrary, the US has given the relief package of US$2,000. But it is a rich country. Pakistan has two forces – the power of faith and the youth – to win the war against coronavirus,” he added. Imran Khan was of the view that no body knows who much quickly it will spread. “A monitoring team present in PM House is reviewing the situation. We will inform the nation about the epidemic situation in a week,” he said.