The salaried struggle carries on and on

While the government may tout improved economic stewardship, for ordinary Pakistanis, life remains extremely difficult. Besides the challenge of making ends meet, basic public services — such as dependable water supply, affordable gas and electricity, and decent job opportunities — are either inadequate or out of reach. The situation has been harsh, and the budget presented last week offers little hope for meaningful relief. If anything, it has further diminished the modest expectations people may have had, particularly for families caught between the two social extremes; the ones neither poor enough to qualify for support nor affluent enough to absorb the rising living cost. Pakistan’s struggling salaried middle-income group — estimated to have lost half its strength over the last five years as rising living costs and falling household real incomes pushed many into poverty