Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) on Monday, has called for the lifting of sanctions on Iran to enable it to combat Coronavirus. 

Iran PressAsia:  In a call for action from the international community, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that it was time to end US sanctions on Iran, where one of the worst Coronavirus outbreaks in the world has unfolded.

"Iran has struggled to respond in part, because of crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration," he said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan further added that Iran is a 'classic example' of a place where the humanitarian imperative to contain the outbreak outweighs political rivalries or economic dogmas. 

The Prime Minister said that he fears the new coronavirus will devastate the economies of developing nations and warned richer economies to prepare to write off the debts of the world’s poorer countries.

"It’s not just Pakistan. I would imagine the same in India, in the subcontinent, in African countries," the Prime Minister said, referring to the virus adding: "If it spreads, we will all have problems with our health facilities. We just don’t have that capability. We just don’t have the resources."

The new virus, that causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province late last year.

It has swept into at least 162 countries, infected more than 181,000 and killed at least 7,113 people worldwide.

207/216

Read more:

China says US sanctions contained Iran's ability to fight coronavirus

Envoy to Moscow: US sanctions target Iran's ability to confront Coronavirus