Budget ignored 11m poor Pakistanis, experts bemoan

While the people are still trying to gauge the real impact of the new budget on their lives, an interaction with the man on the street revealed that 40 per cent Pakistanis living below the poverty line had a feeling the government had left them to fend for themselves. Finance Minister Muh­a­mmad Aurangzeb said nothing about tackling poverty in his budget speech, disappointing the have-nots who have no safety nets whatsoever. The entire budget document laid emphasis on growth and economic stability, but made no mention of 11 million Pakistanis living below the poverty line. Although the government has increased the allocation for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs425 billion to Rs530bn, analysts see it as a sop to please the Peoples Party. The latter uses it for point scoring. Analysts observed that the tax burden had once again fallen on the salaried class and the low income segments of society. This will push more people into abject poverty, they feared.