Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Tuesday requested the global community to consider writing off loans to developing nations including Pakistan to fight coronavirus pandemic

In an exclusive interview to Associated Press, Khan expressed anxiety over the calamitous impact of coronavirus on the economies of developing countries. Khan said if a serious outbreak happens in the country, Islamabad’s efforts to lift the economy out of collapse would begin “an unstoppable slide backwards”.

“Exports would fall off, unemployment would soar and an onerous national debt would become an impossible burden,” the premier added. PM Khan maintained that Islamabad does not have the capability and resources to deal with the novel coronavirus.

Earlier, the ‘Trade and Development Report 2019’ released by the United Nations said that Pakistan’s economic crisis has not been fixed despite the fact that support from China, Saudi Arabia and IMF loan have supported to resolve immediate issues.

In a brief comment on Pakistan in the Asia section, UNCTAD’s annual flagship report went on to say that “Pakistan is in the midst of a crisis” as the growth rate has halved, the balance of payments is in poor shape, the rupee has depreciated significantly and external debt is large and rising.