Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that deteriorating economy is a bigger threat to the national sovereignty than coronavirus.
The PML-N president maintained that transfer of $ 600 million outside Pakistan is a verification of our concerns. A serious strategy is required to deal with the impact of global loss of $ 9 trillion, he stressed.
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“The government’s foolish deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will create further problems to counter the coronavirus outbreak. The national plan of action over the epidemic was delayed.
“The same mistake was made concerning the implications of the global economy on Pakistan due to coronavirus that was committed regarding the value of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar.
“The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has already plunged by ten percent, and inevitable harm will be done if appropriate steps are not taken. A national policy is needed at the moment in the light of the global economic challenges.
“The world is fighting against the coronavirus epidemic and the deteriorating economy while our government is battling with media and the opposition.”
IMF warns of economic crisis due to Coronavirus
Coronavirus epidemic could put an already fragile global economic recovery at risk, the IMF warned, as G20 financial chiefs voiced “real concern” over its economic ripple effects.
Global growth was poised for a modest rebound to 3.3 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent last year, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said after a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh.
U.S. stock markets dropped more than 3.5 percent at close amid fears that coronavirus has knocked global economy off course https://t.co/hXGpp81bNU
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 24, 2020
But the projected recovery was “fragile”, she warned, amid global alarm over rising coronavirus cases in multiple countries even as Chinese authorities lock down millions of people to prevent its spread, with major knock-on effects for the world economy. “The COVID-19 virus — a global health emergency — has disrupted economic activity in China and could put the recovery at risk,” Georgieva said in a statement.
Since mid-January, investors have been adopting extremely cautious behaviour after more headlines cover mounting deaths due to coronavirus, a plunge in global crude oil prices, unchanged main policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan at 13.25 percent for the next two months and the overall political uncertainty in the country.
The SBP in the latest monetary policy statement kept the interest rate unaltered and pushed selling in the leveraged sectors such as cement and steel. Concerns over higher than expected reading of inflationary pressures and political uncertainty sparked by coalition partners of the government also kept investors away from the market.