RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar on Wednesday urged federal and provincial governments as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to announce an emergency economic package to deal with the coronavirus.

The mayor expressed these views during his visit to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) to review coronavirus related treatment arrangements and facilities.

“The COVID-19 is a human tragedy,” he said adding the authorities should also bring the interest rate down to 10 percent to encourage the business and trade community.

He said that the daily wagers, working class, farmers, domestic workers etc were the worst victims of this pandemic and urged the federal and provincial governments to feel their pain and come up with an emergency economic package to deal with the coronavirus.

“If the lockdown-like situation continues for a longer period of time, hunger would kill their children even if they escaped the deadly coronavirus,” the mayor said.