Economy, healthcare can't sustain virus spread: Qureshi.

Byline: Mansoor Malik

LAHORE -- Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that lockdowns in the wake of coronavirus pandemic are set to adversely impact global economies, including that of Pakistan, and this situation calls for improvising the national strategy.

Since the Pakistan government believes that the pandemic is going to be a lengthy affair -- from six months to a year, the foreign minister said Pakistan's economy would not be able to sustain this pressure and demands measures to save people not only from Covid-19, but abject poverty and hunger. Simultaneously, he said, the country's healthcare system could not sustain the burden if the coronavirus spread surged.

Speaking to the media at Services Institute of Medical Sciences on Sunday, Mr Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan was spearheading the development of a national strategy based on a holistic picture of ground realities.

Responding to a question whether the prime minister was unaware about the lockdown that he claimed was imposed by certain 'elite', as he expressed displeasure at a recent event, Mr Qureshi said the prime minister knew about every development. The 'elite' propagated for a lockdown with good intensions of saving lives, but they overlooked its adverse effects.

'A very delicate balance is needed while imposing smart lockdowns depending on the variations in spread of coronavirus - severe, moderate and normal - as is the case world over,' Mr Qureshi stated.

FM says lockdown impact calls for improvising national strategy

Referring to adverse effects of the pandemic on the US, Europe and the UAE, the foreign minister said their economies were slowing down, exports depleting and remittances decreasing as overseas Pakistani wanted to return home. He said economists were saying that the world was heading towards global contraction posing at least three per cent impact, which would run in trillions of dollars.

He said PM Khan had taken the global initiative of seeking debt relief for Pakistan as well as some 75 other countries facing limited fiscal space. He said bridging the...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT