Pak seeks debt relief for Covid-hit nations

ISLAMABAD: 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.

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 pandemic, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The first item on his list is a request for debt suspension till the end of the pandemic for lowincome and most affected countries. The second is “cancellation of debt of least developed countries” that are no longer in a position to repay their loans, it said.

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 $500 billion; expanded concessional financing to lower income countries through multilateral development banks; and creation of a new ‘liquidity and sustainability facility’, which should provide short-term loans at lower costs.

The novel coronavirus has so far infected 410,072 people and claimed 8,260 lives in Pakistan.

Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen ministers are participating in the two-day virtual UNGA special session that began on Thursday.