Lopsided development harmful for Pakistan, says PM Imran.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that lopsided development is harmful for Pakistan, adding that in the past, development funds were distributed on the basis of people's influence, and not on the basis of need.

"Development funds, instead of being distributed on the basis of need, went to those places controlled by [politicians] with the most influence," he said, adding that this inevitably widened the gap between the country's rich and the poor.

The prime minister expressed these views while speaking at the launch ceremony of Data4Pakistan which, according to Radio Pakistan, is aimed at providing the public with access to poverty estimates for every district along with development and policy indicators.

The report added that the portal is part of the government's Ehsaas initiative, and has been developed in collaboration with the World Bank.

Addressing today's ceremony, the premier highlighted the disparity between Lahore's development and that of the rest of Punjab.

"All of Punjab's development budget was being spent on Lahore. Lahore was developing, but the cities surrounding the metropolis were cannibalising, regressing.

"Poorer areas were going backwards, while a select few areas were being developed," he said.

Highlighting the cons of this phenomenon, Imran said: "Firstly, all of the people go to that one developed city seeking employment opportunities, putting a burden on existing facilities. Further, facilities such as health and investment remain...