Appreciating the debt relief measures taken by the G20 countries, IMF and the World Bank for the developing countries including Pakistan, the All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has a urged the government to pass on this relief to the small industries, which are struggling for the survival amidst worldwide lockdowns.

APBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood, in a statement issued here on Wednesday, observed the initial relief packages of $1.4 billion by the IMF and $1 billion by the World Bank would have substantial impact and provide much needed fiscal space to Pakistan which should be used for the wellbeing and welfare of the public, especially the poor and disadvantaged segments of society.

He expressed the hope the it would have been a grant instead of another loan for the country, which is already under heavy burden of foreign debts, as Pakistan's external debt, during new government tenure, has increased by about Rs2.5 trillion while the domestic debt escalated to around Rs21.5 trillion at the end of the last calendar year, which is alarming.

"APBF welcomes the international financial institutions, especially the World Bank to respond positively to the dilemma confronting Pakistan in the face of the pandemic," he said.

While noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented health and economic challenges, he underlined that a global recession might become worse than the Great Depression. A global pandemic cannot be contained without strong, coordinated and well-crafted global response, he stressed.

Syed Maaz Mahmood further said that it is also step forward to give impetus to government's relief-oriented programs, especially for the SMEs. He said that due to the coordinated efforts of Illango Patchamuthu the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors also recently approved a $200 million package to help Pakistan take effective and timely action to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening the country's national healthcare systems and mitigating socioeconomic disruptions.