CMYK
Wednesday, 25 March, 2020 I 29 Rajab, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 266 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Govt announces Rs1.2tR fInancIal SBP cuts policy rate packaGe amId lockdowns from 12.5pc to 11pc g
reduces PetroleuM PrIces by rs15, announces tax funds for IndustrIes, slashes Interest rate, allocates rs200bn for labourers
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PM IMran says coMPlete lockdown wIll be IMPosed as last resort, govt In constant touch wIth ProvInces
ISLAMABAD
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staff report
n a bid to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Imran khan on tuesday announced concessions and tax refunds for exporters and businessmen, followed by a 150 basis points decrease in interest rate by the state bank of Pakistan (sbP). briefing the journalists regarding the measures taken by the government, Imran talked about immediate measures taken by the government to deal with the coronavirus crisis in the country. the PM said the government has approved the stimulus package to help the poor and business community. “we have allocated rs200 billion for labourers and we will immediately release rs100 billion tax refunds to exporters and industry,” he announced. the government decided to allocate rs 200 billion to the labour class. to help the industrial sector, it was decided to release tax refunds amounting to rs100 billion, besides, deferring of the interest payment. “for the small and medium industry and agriculture sector, another amount of rs100 billion was set aside with deferred interest payment,” the PM said, adding concessional loans would also being extended to the sectors. the government wanted to bring down the input costs for the farmers, he added. other packages included an additional amount of rs50bn for the utility stores, rs280bn for the wheat procurement, slashing of petrol and diesel prices by rs15 per litre for which the government would have to bear the burden of rs75bn. an amount of rs100bn was allocated separately for the emergency situation, he added. the prime minister said power consumers using 300 units and gas users with rs2,000 monthly bills would be facilitated to deposit their bills through three monthly installments. a sum of rs50bn was also allocated for the medical staff. the national disaster Management authority (ndMa)
would get rs 25bn for purchase and procuring of kits, he announced. Imran said for the vulnerable families who were bearing the brunt of the difficult time, it was decided to allocate an amount of rs150bn for a period of four months. he said they were also expanding the network of Panagah (shelter houses) where the precautionary measures had been strictly practiced. besides, he said, it was decided to either completely cut taxes or reduce them on different edible items. for the construction industry, the government would announce a separate package within days, which, he promised, had never been witnessed in the country’s history. reiterating that the country could not afford a complete lockdown with the imposition of curfew, the prime minister said the situation in the country so far did not warrant for resorting to that last step. ‘CHAOS IS DANGEROUS’: “chaos is more
dangerous than coronavirus if we take any decision in haste it will have a dire impact on the society,” he said. he said the option of lockdown was first discussed after the national security committee (nsc) meeting. “I opposed the complete lockdown aka curfew,” he added. a complete shutdown will disrupt the supply of food items and medical equipment, said the premier. “this is not a t-20 match and this crisis may continue for six or seven months,” he further said.
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Experts welcome govt’s stimulus package, but deplore ‘nominal rate cut’ STORY ON PAGE 09
Opp calls for immediate lockdown to prevent coronavirus spread LAHORE staff report
an all Parties conference (aPc) cohosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman bilawal bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim league-nawaz (PMl-n) President shehbaz sharif via video link urged the government to announce an immediate lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has so far infected nearly 1,000 people across the country. according to a statement issued after the meeting, all parties agreed that by now the government should have called such a conference and set in motion a comprehensive national action Plan (naP) with all stakeholders on board. It is a matter of grave national concern, and all political leaders have pledged on their own to unite against what needs to be a war effort, but a single day’s delay in taking decisions are costing valuable lives, they added. they said that messaging for public safety is crucial in changing social attitudes, and all resources, including private tv channels as well as the clergy, must be nationally engaged by the federal leadership to use their pulpits for amplification of life-saving messages. the parties called for a national task force, which should include all representatives of all political parties. they said that immediate actions must in-
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oPP PartIes aPc calls for ProtectIon of Poor and vulnerable segMents
clude health sector actions, economic management and public messaging that must use all platforms for protecting the public as well as the medical workers on the frontlines of this fight. Paying tribute to dr usama riaz, who passed away after getting infected from the virus while attending patients, they said that doctors like him must be appreciated with the highest civil awards, and the entire medical community should be given protective gear before anything else. the opposition parties condemned the leadership deficit on the part of the federal government, and demanded that crisis management committees be formed at all levels, from the provinces to the local bodies tiers, with all parties representation be formed immediately by government in order to manage the ravages of this unprecedented risk to Pakistan and all humanity. they said that relief efforts must use
local bodies as well for outreach, while philanthropic and volunteer efforts should be streamlined. the conference was united and vociferous in appreciating the sindh government’s efforts and cM’s proactive leadership. sindh’s charter of demands, which were endorsed by all leaders include the federal government’s urgent operationalisation of an effective national lockdown, because without full coverage and coordination across the country, one province cannot continue to impose effective containment measures on its own. they said that this should include the suspension of all public transport, including passenger trains, however, private transport may be allowed in case of immediate need. they also said that in case the federal government cannot impose this, it must go for a full lockdown. the lockdown should be coupled with expanding capacity for testing, beds, ventilators, Icu facilities, PPe, and isolation centres to be effective, they added. the opposition parties said that pooerest of the poor must be immediately protected by using the benazir Income support Programme (bIsP) data and other poverty alleviation programmes to identify the most vulnerable must be used and then providing rs15000 to each household.
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CMYK
KARACHI MeIrYUM aLI
the state bank of Pakistan (sbP) has decided to cut the country’s policy rate from 12.5pc to 11pc in an emergency meeting held on tuesday, said a statement issued on tuesday. this was a second rate cut in this month after the central bank slashed the rate from 13.25pc to 12.5pc last week. according to the sbP, the Monetary Policy committee (MPc) was of the view that this cumulative easing would cushion the growth slowdown while protecting inflation expectations. In making this decision, the sbP has taken into account global and domestic developments, regarding the covId-19 pandemic. “the developments discussed imply that the outlook for growth and inflation in Pakistan is likely to be revised down further,” said the sbP. on an international level, the virus has severely increased in reach. “this has caused major disruptions to economic activity and the International Monetary fund (IMf) has also significantly downgraded its global growth outlook for 2020 from 3.3 per cent growth previously to below zero. these global developments have also led to a sharp fall in international trade,” said the sbP. on the domestic front, since the last MPc, the sbP noted that the number of covId-19 cases has increased considerably, prompting social distancing and curtailment of activity. sindh has imposed a lockdown for two weeks, while Punjab and balochistan have imposed a partial shutdown. “this is expected to lead to noticeable slowdown in domestic demand,” said the sbP. the MPc felt it was able to make these decisions, as in the last meeting it had emphasised that “it was ready to take further actions if and when needed as more information becomes available on the outlook for inflation and growth” due to uncertainty regarding the covId-19 pandemic. the MPc also said that sbP was in the process of taking necessary regulatory measures in coordination with banks to address pressures on cash flows of borrowers affected by coronavirus-related disruptions, through facilitating deferment and restructuring of their loans. these measures will be announced soon. last week’s decision to cut the policy rate by 75 basis points, from 13.25 per cent to 12.50pc was based on a lower predicted inflation forecast, but also a concern about the coronavirus pandemic and its potential impact on the external and domestic demand. according to the state bank, the average headline inflation is expected to remain within the 11-12pc forecast in fy20, before falling to the medium-term target range of 5-7pc. this is earlier than previous state bank expectations. national cPI inflation surged to 14.6 per cent in January 2020, before a deceleration in february 2020 to 12.4 per cent. currently, the average national cPI stands at 11.7 per cent during the first eight months of fy20. analysts at the time had predicted a cut ranging from 50 basis points to 100 basis points. after the cut was announced, many had felt that the sbP should have reduced the policy cut further in light of the global pandemic.
more inside
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