Poverty alleviation: Pakistan's experience.

Byline: JAVERIA SIDDIQUI

Poverty alleviation is one of the preeminent factors in sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by UNO. Ever since the beginning of formulation of formal economic policies in the world after the second world war, the poverty has been the core of discussion. The reason behind that was the next threat is from poor. Those, who "have not" and lies in the category of those who do not have the resources and in the war of resources they can go to any extent. That's what we have seen in the last twenty years. Therefore, the main focus of every budget and economic policy have been two major factors; economic growth and poverty especially in the rule of the governments with prolonged regimes.

Since 1999 till 2007, a very hyper sensitive issue of Pakistan's economy was poverty reduction and economic growth in Pakistan. The primary concentration behind increasing economic growth was also poverty reduction according to the rule of trickle-down effect. This concept of trickle-down is basically from 1960s, "let the cake be big and then cut it" which means that people who have resources must be given the chance to increase their resources and when the resources increased, they will reach to the poor and reduce the poverty consequently.

Since Pakistan came into being, there have been two approaches for poverty alleviation. Before 1980s the conventional approach was used to reduce poverty by charity, taxes and other sources without any emphasis on religiosity but in 1980s, in the period of Islamisation the Shariah based approach was introduced and the main focus of the approach was to introduce the zakat system in banks, interest free finances for poor without making them overburdened with the pressure of paying back the amount of loan with interest on that, distributive justice, prohibition of monopoly in which monopoly control authority was authorized to ensure that there should be an atmosphere of competition rather rich is becoming the richest and poor getting poorer.

Later on, monopoly control authority named as Federal Competition Beuro. Moreover, the government tried to implement the law of inheritance, state's responsibility for providing basic necessities was increased and that's how the trend of poverty declined that time in 1980s till 1991. But, as far as the income inequality is concerned, that doesn't seem to decrease. Surprising thing was that in 1970s and early 1980s it was said that the income inequality is the...