Days after the Prime Minister announced a relief package worth Rs200 billion for working people, the assistance has not yet materialized. Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch informed The Express Tribune that he has not yet been asked to release funds for this purpose.
Relief promised to daily wage labourers was meant to be Rs. 3,000 each. Many commentators have expressed alarm at the scale of impoverishment and social costs that the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus will cause in Pakistan – especially due to the need for maintaining a constant lockdown.
The government's announcement of a relief package has raised hopes that the urban poor will receive assistance on an emergency footing.