Rampant poverty in Pakistan when world is progressing at a rapid pace
Previously Govt. poverty figures do not represent factual situation. Will PTI do the same?
(Web Desk) - Everything, be it commodities’ prices or performance of Pakistan cricket team, takes an opposite turn in Pakistan as and when compared with the world. At a time when poverty is being curtailed all around the world, in Pakistan, it is going upward. A recent report of World Economic Forum states that almost half of the world is being considered as “middle class” but in Pakistan middle class is shrinking.
According to World Bank, a person who earns $2 or Rs250 daily, he is considered a poor man but in Pakistan, anyone with around Rs100 is considered a poor – Pakistan standards do not even meet international yardsticks to measure poverty.
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According to a recent survey of Planning Commission, even till this time 77.7 million people are living below the poverty line; Punjab 34.5 per cent, Sindh 43 per cent, KP 49 per cent, and Balochistan 71 per cent.
Facts and figures related to poverty in Pakistan are widely believed to be forged. They do not represent real economic situation. Photo: File
On other side, Pakistan’s total middle class population is less than 30 per cent. Yes this is true if it is measured in accordance to the international standards. For instance according to Brookings Institute, if a family of three members is earning 20,000 per month, it is considered part of the middle class; resultantly, only 30 per cent of the entire population of Pakistan falls in this group.
Now if the standard of Rs250 is followed, it means 70 per cent of the entire population of Pakistan is poor. Sadly, with the standard of Rs100, the government figure of poverty is only 24 per cent which is less than factual figure.
Around 25 million children are out of schools, forced to indulge into hard labour to earn living for their family. Photo: File
According to a recent survey of Planning Commission, even till this time 77.7 million people are living below the poverty line; Punjab 34.5 per cent, Sindh 43 per cent, KP 49 per cent, and Balochistan 71 per cent. People are eagerly looking towards new government of PTI to uplift their living standard so that they could at least avail the basic facilities to live a happy life.
Read urdu version here Roznama Dunya
Edited and translated by Junaid Ali Malik
