COVID19 Alert

Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced creation of the CRF where people, including overseas Pakistanis, could donate money without declaring their source of income during his televised address to the nation on March 30, 2020. He had stated that those depositing money in the fund would be given relaxation in taxes and the money would be utilised to provide food and cash to 15 million poor and needy people.

The prime minister had said Pakistan had to fight the war against the coronavirus with wisdom as the country did not have ample resources such as China and the United States.

The US, he had said, had allocated $2,000 billion to offset the impact of Covid-19, while Pakistan had earmarked only $8bn.

The CRF started receiving donations from April 1 and the prime minister had himself made a formal announcement in this regard through his official account on Twitter.

“The Prime Minister’s Covid-19 Pandemic Relief Fund-2020 has been set up to help us fight this pandemic. I want everyone to donate towards this fund which will be used to take care of all those who have been made destitute by the lockdown,” Mr Khan had tweeted at the formal launch of the fund.

Speaking during a telethon held on a private television channel on April 10 to collect donations for the CRF, the prime minister had said that in addition to using its own resources, the government was raising funds because the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis would “further worsen”.