Imran Khan begs FOR COVID-19 Vaccine For Poor Pakistan Along with debt relief
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday begged for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine and debt relief for poor countries like Pakistan to offset the impact of the pandemic.
Addressing the fourth session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Khan called for an affordable supply of coronavirus vaccines to poor countries and for expanding Covax – WHO’s global shared vaccine program.
“COVID-19 vaccines are now being administered in developed countries but it seems like it will take much longer for the vaccines to fully cover the Globe. Sustainable development will remain elusive as long as the pandemic persists,” he said.
Suggesting a five-point agenda to tackle the pandemic and debt burden, he urged for “creating a viable framework for equitable and affordable supply of COVID vaccines to poor countries.”
Noting that Pakistan was trapped between recovering from the pandemic and meeting its debt servicing obligations, he urged for “additional debt relief by suspending debt repayments for the most stressed countries until the end of the pandemic.”
He also called for the general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of USD 500 billion to help alleviate the balance of payment pressures. An SDR is an International Monetary Fund unit for a financial transaction, which includes a mixed basket of currencies.
Khan also stressed on the world community to take measures for the return of stolen assets held by corrupt politicians and criminals from countries like Pakistan. “Reportedly, a staggering amount of USD 7 trillion is parked in (tax haven) destinations and it is also reported that USD 1 trillion annually leaves the developing countries for these (havens),” he said.
Khan also said the developed countries should meet the agreed target of mobilising USD 100 billion annually for climate action in developing countries.
He said Pakistan made an effort at ensuring that “we save people from dying from the virus, and at the same time preventing them from dying from hunger” and the strategy has worked well so far but continuous efforts are needed to fully overcome the second wave of the virus.
“The world today is grappling with a series of interlinked and unprecedented public health and economic crises. While the coronavirus does not discriminate between the rich and the poor, the most vulnerable people and countries have suffered the most,” he said.
So Pakistan will continue to beg but will not refrain from sponsoring terrorism into India and other countries.
So the the Arab world is making Pakistan pay its debts. Malaysia has already made Pakistani airlines clear their dues. Malaysia recently seized a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane due to non-payment of dues and made the airline pay seven million dollars that were long overdue.
Malaysia is one of the countries apart from Turkey that Imran Khan called Pakistan’s friends. Though Pakistani MPs are outraged and believe that today it was seizure of an airplane, tomorrow it could be the detention of the prime minister himself.
As Pakistan has exhausted all its option and seeing the overall condition of Pakistan, the IMF is unlikely to hand out more money to Pakistan and even China has begun seeking loan guarantees.
In fact PM Imran Khan has come up with a bright idea and is “considering” mortgaging a park in Islamabad to get a loan of around PKR 500 billion or USD 3 billion. He plans to secure three billion dollars by offering the Fatima Jinnah Park based in the heart of Islamabad and named after the youngest sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as a Security.
This is the largest recreation park of its kind in Pakistan’s capital and is spread across 759 acres of land. According to Dawn news, the proposal to mortgage this park has been included in the agenda of Pakistan’s federal cabinet conference which will be held on Thursday. The Pak govt has confirmed this and recently issued a clarification justifying its plan under the Shariah law.
‘Sukuk are sharia compliant borrowing instruments backed by physical assets….. And are structured so as to pay returns on investment as rent…. Instead of interest by utilising an underlying asset,” was the clarification that was issued by the administration.
Simply described, the Pakistan government is trying to say that mortgage or ‘sukuk’ is compliant with the Sharia law.
Recently, Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to repay a 3 billion dollar soft loan. The Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa was dispatched to Riyadh, but the sheikhdom did not budge. As Pakistan struggles to pay the tranches, reports have emerged that UAE too could seek the early repayment of a 3 billion dollar financial support package.
At the same time, China is seeking loan guarantees from Pakistan. Beijing wants Islamabad to ensure that it will pay its Chinese debts first. It wants the Pak govt to put a guarantee mechanism in place for any loans henceforth.
Even the IMF is asking Pakistan to mend its policies if it wants more loans.
