PM's Corona Relief Fund crosses Rs4bn mark.

Byline: Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD -- Amid calls by the opposition parties for auditing of the amount so far spent by the government in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has announced that the Prime Minister Corona Relief Fund (CRF) has swelled to over Rs4 billion.

The announcement was made by PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan through his official social media account on Twitter.

'The PM (Corona) Relief Fund has crossed the 4 billion mark Masha Allah. Generosity and Jazba (passion) of all donors is commendable. This indeed is a great cause. Together we can and together we must,' the PTI senator tweeted.

In the same tweet, the PTI senator recalled that the government had decided to contribute Rs4 for every single rupee donated to relief fund.

There has been an increase of Rs1 billion in the CRF, set by the government in the aftermath of the spread of coronavirus in the country, in just under a month's time as the same PTI senator had announced through Twitter on May 1 that the PM fund had touched Rs3bn mark.

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Senator Faisal Javed was sent written questions regarding the utilisation of the fund and the opposition's demand for a parliamentary oversight, but he did not respond despite committing to do so.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced creation of the CRF where people, including overseas Pakistanis, could donate money without declaring their source of income during his televised address to the nation on March 30. He had stated that those depositing money in the fund would be given relaxation in taxes and the money would be utilised to provide food and cash to 15 million poor and needy people.

The prime minister had said Pakistan had to fight the war against the coronavirus with wisdom as the country did not have ample resources such as China and the United States.

The US, he had said, had allocated $2,000 billion to offset the impact of Covid-19, while Pakistan had earmarked only $8bn.

The CRF started receiving donations from April 1 and the prime minister had himself made a formal announcement in this regard through his official account on Twitter.

'The Prime Minister's Covid-19 Pandemic Relief Fund-2020 has been set up to help us fight this pandemic. I want everyone to donate towards this fund which will be used to take care of all those who have been made destitute by the...