Jazz, a VEON group company, has pledged Rs1.2 billion support towards the COVID-19 relief, said a press release issued on Wednesday.

The support will include short to mid-term initiatives aimed to limit the negative impact of the pandemic, primarily for the most-vulnerable communities.

As part of this immediate rollout, Jazz will provide support to leading welfare organisations across Pakistan.

The initiatives include COVID-19 tests, life-saving ventilators, and food rations to be passed on to the ones most affected by the calamity.

The relief response also facilitates Jazz customers to direct their charitable donations via SMS and JazzCash.

Jazz employees will also be voluntarily contributing up to three-day salary to the nationwide relief effort.

A significant part of the announced support will be for continuing zero-rated and subsidised services for access to emergency care, medical helplines, and critical health applications, which have been either marked-down or made free for customers under this coronavirus relief effort.

Added support will come in through subsidised voice and data bundles, and mobile payments. The company has also accelerated the sign-up process for JazzCash mobile wallets, so that relief can be provided urgently by donors directly to local community members most impacted by this pandemic.

Aamir Ibrahim, the Jazz CEO, said, "We have been at the forefront of solving every crisis in Pakistan for the past 25 years. The COVID-19 is no exception in stepping up our national responsibility. As a digital company, we have a huge role to play in keeping the economy advancing through online connectivity. This global crisis is unprecedented in its scale, and our prayers are with those who are suffering."-PR