Coronavirus outbreak: Pakistan obtains key relief from IMF

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was provided a key relief by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday according to which expenses undertaken by the government to combat the coronavirus outbreak will not be included in the fiscal deficit target. 

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh confirmed the development, revealing that the international money lender had agreed to not include the expenses incurred on battling the coronavirus in the fiscal deficit. 

Dr Hafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting held to discuss the coronavirus and its effects. He said that the government will not allow the common man to feel the effects of the coronavirus. 

"The prime minister has tasked me deal with the economic impact [of the virus]," he was quoted as saying in a press release. "It will be [the government's efforts] to ensure that basic food items' prices don't increase or their supply is not disrupted."

He said that the government will try to ensure that the coronavirus outbreak does not lead to unemployment in the country.