Despite Ramazan, March has not been a blessed month in Pakistan. There have been 15 deaths and 67 have been injured that we know of because of the stressed financial conditions in the country.
Protests have broken out all over the country against the mismanagement of distribution. Scores have fainted in the heat while waiting for free flour bags in line. A man in Vehari died of a heart attack after a long wait to get a single bag of atta.
As horrific as the numbers are, it may just be the beginning of the blood that will spill on the streets if the economic conditions do not improve. Increased food insecurity brings with it heightened violence and conflicts.
At the start of the year, many were sanguine that by the end of 2023, the country would have stabilised. Three months have passed, and the hardships are only increasing.
Poverty is expected to reach 37.2 per cent of the population this year (where poverty is measured as $3.65 per day with purchasing power parity of 2017), according to the World Bank.
The stories that reach our ears are usually of urban and peri-urban areas, while the rural poverty rates are double that of urban ones. Human Rights Watch asserts that 86m people face food security in Pakistan, yet only 8.9m families receive assistance from the government.
And even Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) is considered a stroke of luck rather than the right of the impoverished. “My sister was told she does not qualify for BISP,” says Naseem, who works as a maid.
“She does not own a house or a vehicle. She is living a difficult life, but officials do not even tell us why she cannot be a beneficiary. They just say no, and tell us to go.”
The government’s lack of competence was never a question, but it seems it also lacks the will. Staying in power is a battle that is fought every day, but it is one that they might not win if elections are called this year.
When staying in power and the optics of politics are the main motivations for working for the country’s welfare, why would they help the poor today if elections will bring in a new party tomorrow?
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, April 3rd, 2023
