Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan

Title of the book,
Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan, Present Scenario and Future Strategies  
By, Dr. Mohibul Haq

Introduction
This book is a collection of sixteen papers presented at a seminar on poverty alleviation organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad in December 1995. The objectives of this seminar was to highlight the issues of poverty; to critically evaluate the public policies and strategies connected to it; and to present the solutions to poverty eradication with special reference to the Islamic approach.
Poverty is a global phenomenon, confined not only to the developing countries. It can be found in highly developed countries of the world also. Due to rapidly increasing population, the problems of food shortage in most developing countries are compounded by inadequate provision of basic services, such as health and sanitation facilities, shelter, and safe drinking-water; also lack of education and increasing unemployment. A substantial proportion of population in these countries lives below the poverty-line. With basic survival at risk, the children of poor families are forced to start work at an early age.
Despite the high rate of economic growth, the incidence of poverty in Pakistan is substantial. About one-fourth of its population, i.e., nearly 30 million people, live below the poverty-line. Moreover, the socio-economic and demographic indicators exhibit a dismal picture. The trend in the Gini coefficient indicates that the pattern of income distribution has worsened over time. The high rate of inflation, low collection of government revenues, and miserably small allocation of government funds for the uplift of human resources, coupled with rising unemployment and underemployment, are the major factors contributing to the prevailing high incidence of poverty.

Second part of the book

Introduction
The second part of this book highlights the existing situation of poverty in Pakistan and examines the relationship...