Rehman Malik seeks free corona testing for deserving

Islamabad: Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik has asked the government to bear the charges of Coronavirus tests of the poor patients.

He asked that the poor patients may be tested either in the government hospitals or reimbursement may be given to private clinics that provide testing facility to poor patients.

In a letter to the Secretary Interior, Senator A. Rehman Malik writes that with reference to the 37 point Anti-Corona National Action Plan proposed by the Senate Standing Committee on Interior vide letter dated 12th March, 2020 in which clear directions were given that the public should be facilitated with testing free of cost. He said that our major population is below the poverty line and even the government is giving a subsidiary support of rupees twelve thousands to the needy so how can we expect that these poor people will have their tests for COVID-19 on payment.

He has directed that the doctors and nurses who are fighting on the front line are being infected due to lack of medical gears (PPEs) and the number of infected doctors and nurses are increasing day by day which is creating fear within the medical community and the government should immediately do the needful to secure the safety of the doctors and nurses.

Senator A. Rehman Malik today on Friday submitted a resolution and calling attention notice in the Senate Secretariat to debate in the House that in view of our weak economy, the government may be advised not to take new foreign loans from International Creditors to avoid extra burden on our national economy as in future we will not be in a position to sustain our economy due to heavy economic burdens.

Earlier this week, Senator A. Rehman Malik had submitted a resolution seeking that this House may discuss that the Government to invoke the Force-Majeure law for write-off the foreign debts of Pakistan from IMF, World Bank and USAID and other International financial institutions due to coronavirus outbreak. It adds “Pandemic COVID19 is adversely affecting our economy by drying out our local revenue generation, almost stopped remittances and hence Pakistan will be unable to make the repayments and retire heavy foreign loans. “Force Majeure Law” is the only option to be invoked in the given situation to sustain our economy, reads the resolution.

Senator A. Rehman Malik said that pandemic has brought wheel of our economy to stand still hence we need to seek deferment, and possible writing-off of repayments, by establishing prevalence of Force-Majeure circumstances. In my view, by establishing Force-Majeure, IMF, World Bank, USAID etc. would be lawfully obliged to grant deferment for these repayments and possibly written off our loans.