POVERTY has many faces. One sees it in different forms on a daily basis: a child beggar standing at the traffic signal; or a young flower-vendor standing in the corner of a road. One can either buy his stuff or bring him home for sexual gratification, paying him Rs10-15. Poverty can also be seen in the form of the maid who covers long distances on shabby public transport busses to work in the so-called posh localities where she is often verbally or physically abused. Then there are those who earn on a daily basis, and whose livelihood can be disrupted by frequent strikes and police excesses. The list can go on and on and after 59 years of freedom we, as a nation, have not been able to come out of the trap of poverty and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The divide between the rich and the poor is increasing due to faulty government policies.

However, this is one side of the coin, and the life on the other side of the divide is really a bed of roses. The so-called privileged section of society — which includes politicians, feudal lords, civil and military bureaucracy and industrialists — is having a ball in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Life has never been so easy and enjoyable for them because in a Third World country they can enjoy the luxuries of any developed nation: their neighborhoods are clean; their children go to quality schools; they enjoy the best medical facilities; and common civic problems such as electricity breakdowns and water scarcity do not affect them since their money can take care of these minor hitches. The exclusive shopping malls, branded stores and franchise restaurants, rave parties, designer clothes, and super markets do not make them miss their foreign abodes where they spend half of their time.

In this regard, it would be apt to mention what Mohsin Hamid writes about the subject under discussion in Moth Smoke: “There are two social classes in Pakistan. The first group, large and sweaty, contains those referred to as masses. The second group is much smaller, but its members exercise vastly greater control over their immediate environment and are collectively termed as the elite ... and they have managed to recreate for themselves the living standards of, say, Sweden, without leaving the dusty plains of the subcontinent.”

Although poverty has been the major problem for all the developing countries, its impact on Pakistan is colossal, to say the least. According to a Human Development Report, while less than one-third of Pakistanis are income poor, nearly one-half suffer from serious deprivations. Access to basic services like primary healthcare and safe drinking water is denied to nearly half of the population. Aabout 38 per cent of the children under five are malnourished. There is a mismatch in the supply and demand for skills. And poverty levels have increased from 21 per cent to 35 per cent since 1998-99.

Poverty is a multidimensional concept that constitutes not only economics but also social deprivations. Its two important facets are income poverty and poverty of opportunities. Income poverty is measured against the notion of a poverty line. However, the poverty of opportunities is analysed primarily in relation to access to corresponding inputs such as healthcare, drinking water, sanitation facilities and education. Amartya Sen has explained the many dimensions of poverty as the lack of ‘capability’— the capability to overcome violence, starvation, ignorance, diseases, disparity and voicelessness.

Explaining this point further, Akbar Zaidi, a researcher and freelance consultant in areas of political economy, governance, institutions and the social sectors, says: “Poverty’s definition should include issues of justice, rights, participation and equality and to all intents and purposes all form of social and economic segregation, which are usually based on imbalanced material relations.”

When we examine the trends in poverty during the last 59 years, it becomes clear that it has been an uneven traverse. However, poverty has always been studied in relation to economic growth as experts believe that it is the foundation on which its reduction can be achieved. As Akbar Zaidi has mentioned in Issues in Pakistan’s economy, in the ’50s growth was stagnated and poverty persisted; in the`60s there was a rapid increase in growth and poverty increased whereas in the ’70s growth was slow and stagnated and poverty declined. In the ’80s, however, there was a rapid increase in growth and decline in poverty. In the `90s, there was a substantial decline in growth and poverty increased considerably.

After toying with the idea of macro-economic stabilisation for quite some time, poverty alleviation has become the new catchphrase among the official planners. Realising the dangers posed to the social fabric of society, the government has initiated a Poverty Reduction Strategy, as stated in the Economic Survey 2005-06. Its five aims are accelerated economic growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability, investing in human capital, augmenting targeted intervention, expanding social safety nets and improving governance and following this programme they expect to reduce transitory and chronic poverty on a sustained basis. In short, the official line is still the ‘trickle down theory’ which has failed to make positive impact, time and again.

Faisal Bari, Associate Professor in LUMS and an economist working with the Mahbabul Haq Human Development Centre, says: “There is no doubt that the government has taken some positive measures to increase the growth rate and achieve fiscal stability. However, in lieu of macro-economic raison d’être, their results would come, say, in two or three years. The government is rightfully claiming that poverty levels are coming down but at the same time inequality is increasing at an alarming rate which has given rise to certain social problems.”

Poverty has created many social and psychological problems as well. Years ago this scribe had attended a conference addressed by the late Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan, who prophesied that Pakistan would be heading towards an explosive situation because there were islands of prosperity amidst oceans of poverty. Elaborating the point, Dr Wasif Ali, a practising psychiatrist says: “Basically this is the era of communication technology which has made information and exposure accessible to everyone irrespective of their class and social standing. This single factor has created many problems as it creates split in the minds of deprived people and generates feeling of deprivation, hopelessness and helplessness.” On the individual level these feelings convert into depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal tendencies and on the societal level they translate into escalating violent behaviour, mob violence and petty crimes. This dichotomy is injurious to the mental health of the people in any unjust and class-ridden set-up, adds Dr Ali.

According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the gap between the rich and the poor as measured by Gini Coefficient has increased from the ratio of 3.76 to 4.15, over the last four years. It also shows that amplified GDP is being pre-empted by the higher stratum while the people on the other side of the fence are not gaining much from the higher level of development. Explaining the reasons for the widening gap between haves and have-nots, Dr Asad Saeed, an eminent economist, says: “This is the logical outcome of the liberalised economy as in this system it is the market that is going to decide allocation and distribution of resources. The market forces don’t have any consideration for the marginalised sections or lofty aims as creating egalitarian society or reducing poverty levels.”

In the end, it could be safely said that a pro-poor growth strategy is the need of the hour. The government needs to identify the predicament, gather the political resolve and utilise its writ to close the gap between haves and have-nots. Dr A. R. Kamal, an eminent economist serving in the public sector says: “There is an urgent need to create more employment opportunities to fight poverty.” In this regard, he especially mentions the potential of the agriculture sector and particularly the livestock section which accounts for 40 per cent of its GDP, manufacturing and light engineering industries which are labour intensive and can create more jobs.

However, there is a need for an integrated approach that should promote broad-based economic growth that encourages labour intensive industries, development of a conducive environment for the private sector, increasing employment and income generating opportunities for disadvantaged groups such as women, urban poor and landless peasants through micro financing, improving governance by ensuring the transparent use of public funds, promoting effective delivery of public services and maintaining law and order. Last but not least there is a need for social development which targets human capital, adequate budgetary allocation for developing human resources, targets basic services for marginalised people, and removes gender discrimination in all spheres of life.

The hardships and deprivation of poverty fall most heavily on women and children. Men r free to roam and pick up whatever work available, and they may keep the wages for themselves. Some men do not take the responsibility of their women and children. Under the stress of poverty many married men abandon their wives and children. Many developing countries do not have welfare system that can provide care in much situations. Too often the women can not cope, children are abandoned and women turn to begging. stealing and prostitution. And what happens to their childrern? If they survive at all, It is by begging, stealing ,scrounging through garbage and finding shelter in any hole or cervice they can find. The problem is grear. Nearly every sizable developing world city has thousands of these "Stray children".. Force child labour, child prostitution and selling children for adoption are additional problems exist in small number measure. One can spectulate as to kind of adults these children become as they grow up. At the very least al these factors tend to lock the poor into vicious cycle of illiteracy and squalid conditions that defines absolute poverty

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I believe in God even though He is silent.