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Poverty in Pakistan is a major economic issue. Nearly one-third of the population is classified poor . The declining trend on poverty in the country seen during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s .The government of Pakistan has prepared an "Interim Poverty reduction Strategy Paper" that suggest guidelines to reduce poverty in the country.

As of 2006, Pakistan's Human Development Index is 0.527, higher than that of nearby Bangladesh (0.520), which was formerly a part of Pakistan but lower than that of neighboring India (0.602).

Incidences of poverty in Pakistan rose from 22-26% in the Fiscal Year 1991 to 32-35% in the Fiscal Year 1999. since that year, the growth rate of poverty has intensified, development spending has declined, and severe droughts have taken place .

Spatial Distribution of Poverty

Poverty in pakistan has historically been higher in rural areas and lower in the cities. Out of the totl 47 million living below the poverty line, 35 million live in rural areas.Poverty rose sharply in the rural areas in the 1990s and the gap in income between urban and rural areas of the country became more significant. This trend has been attributed to a disproportionate impact of the economic slowdown in the rural areas caused by low economic growth, decline in public sector development spending and lower worker remunerations .

There are also significant inhomogenities in teh different regions of Pakistan that contribute to the country's rising poverty. In the 1999 Fiscal year, the urban regions of the Sindh province had the lowest levels of poverty, and the rural areas of the North West Frontier Province had the highest.Punjab also has significant gradients in poverty among the different regions of the province .

Poverty and Gender

The gender discriminatory practices in Pakistani society also shape the distribution of poverty in the country. Traditional gender roles in Pakistan define the woman's place as in the home and not in the workplace, and define the man as the breadwinner. Consequently, the society invests far less in women than men . Women in Pakistan suffer from poverty of opportunities throughout their lives. Female literacy in Pakistan is 29% compared to Male literacy at 55%. In legislative bodies, women have constitute less than 3% of the legislature elected on general seats. The 1973 Constitution allowed reserved seats for women in both houses of parliament for a period of 20 years, thus ensuring that women would be represented in parliament regardless of whether or not they are elected on general seats. This provision lapsed in 1993, so parliaments elected ubsequently did not have reserved seats for women. Reserved seats for women have been restored in the elections scheduled for October 2002, and will constitute 17 percent of the strength of Parliament. Female labor rates in Pakistan are exceptionally low.

Economic and Social Vulnerability

"Vulnerability" in this case stands for the underlying susceptibility of economically deprived people to fall into poverty as a result of exogenous random shocks. Vulnerable households are generally found to have low expenditure levels. Households are considered vulnerable if they do not have the means to smooth out their expenses in response to changes in income. In general, vulnerability is likely to be high in households clustered around the poverty line. Since coping strategies for vulnerable households depend primarily on their sources of income, exogenous shocks can increase reliance on non-agricultural wages. Such diversification has not occurred in many parts of Pakistan, leading to an increased dependence on credit..

While economic vulnerability is a key factor in the rise of poverty in Pakistan, vulnerability also arises from social powerlessness, political disenfranchisement, and ill-functioning and distortionary institutions, and these also are important causes of the persistence of vulnerability among the poor..

Other causes of vulnerability in Pakistan are the everyday harrassment by corrupt government officials, as well as their underperformance, exclusion and denial of basic rights to many in Pakistan. Also, lack of adequate health care by the state lead the poor to seek private sources, which are expensive, but still preferable to the possibility of medical malpractice and being given expired medicines in state run medical facilities. Also, the failure by the state to provide adequate law and order in many parts of the country is a factor in the rise of vulnerability of the poor.

Environmental Issues

Environmental problems in Pakistan, such as erosion, use of agro-chemicals, deforestation etc. contribute to rising poverty in Pakistan. Increasing pollution contributes to increasing risk of toxicity, and poor industrial standards in the country contribute to rising pollution .

Poor Governance

By the end of the 1990s, the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's social and economic resources for development emerged as Pakistan's foremost developmental problem. Corruption and political instabilities such as various separatist movements resulted in reduction of business confidence, deterioration of economic growth, reduced public expenditure, poor delivery of public services, and undermining of the rule of law . The perceived security threat on the border with India has dominated Pakistan's culture and has led to the domination of military in politics, excessive spending on defense at the expense of social sectors, and the erosion of law and order.Pakistan has been run by military dictatorships for large periods of time, alternating with limited democracy. These rapid changes in governments led to rapid policy changes and reversals and the reduction of transparency and accountability in government. The onset of opppressive regimes have contributed to non-transparency in resource allocation. Those who do not constitute the political elite are unable to make political leaders and the Government responsive to their needs or accountable to promises. Development priorities are determined not by potential beneficiaries but by the bureaucracy and a political elite which may or may not be in touch with the needs of the citizens. Political instability and macroeconomic imbalances have been reflected in poor creditworthiness ratings, even compared to other countries of similar income levels, with resulting capital flight and lower foreign direct investment inflows. The current government of Pakistan has professed committments to reforms in this area.

Landlord issues

Pakistan is home to a large feudal landholding system. 51% of poor tenants owe money to the landlords . The landlords position of power allows them to exploit the only resource the poor can possibly provide: their own labor.

References

1. Asian Development Bank report on Poverty in Pakistan: Issues, Causes, and Institutional Responses Online Edition
2. ADB Report pg 9
3. ADB report pg 11
4. ADB report pg 11
5. ADB report pg 11
6. ADB report pg 13
7. Kabeer, Naila (1994). Reversed Realities. Verso, London.
8. ADB report pg 15
9. ADB report pg 16
10. ADB report pg 29
11. ADB report pg 33
12. ADB report pg 34

External Links

Poverty in Pakistan

Pakistan Poverty Assessment by the World Bank

• Pakistan
• Poverty by Country