POVERTY CANNOT BE DESCRIBED, IT CAN BE FELT

                IF YOU CAN’T FEED HUNDRED PEOPLE THEN FEED JUST ONE

Poverty in Pakistan has fallen dramatically independent bodies supported estimates of a considerable fall in the statistic by the 2007-08 fiscal year, when it was estimated that 17.2% of the total population lived below the poverty line. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption. This phenomenon has been referred to as the "poverty bomb". 

At the time of the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Pakistan inherited the most backward parts of South Asia with only one university, one Textile Mill and one Jute Factory. Pakistan's major cities and urban centers are home to an estimated 1.2 million street children. These includes beggars and scavengers who are often very young.

Environmental problems in Pakistan, such as erosion, use of agro-chemicals, deforestation etc. contribute to rising poverty in Pakistan.

Over 50 percent of Pakistan's population is living below the poverty line, a World Bank report titled "World Development Indicators (WDI) 2015" maintains. The international poverty line is two dollars a day or an income of about Rs 205 per day in local currency. The report shows that 12.7 percent of Pakistan's population lives below $1.25 per day, which is categorized as extreme poverty.

The poverty headcount ratio at $1.25 a day is the share of the population living on less than $1.25 a day in 2005 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. The PPP 2005 $1.25 a day poverty line is the average poverty line of the 15 poorest countries in the world, estimated from household surveys conducted by national statistical offices or by private agencies under the supervision of government or international agencies.

Poverty and the lack of a modern curriculum have proved destabilizing factors for Pakistani society that have been exploited by militant organizations banned by the government to run schools and produce militant literature. 

Hence, the government should take a step to expunge poverty from Pakistan and give relief to poor peoples and give the basic requirement to them for living.