The erosion of dignity under zero poverty

Even though we formally pledge to “eradicate poverty in all its forms,” the local situation indicates a swift decline into severe poverty for the working class. Survival has become harder than ever as the national poverty rate nears 29%. With petrol now at Rs381 per litre and new fixed charges on electricity bills, the so-called minimum wage of Rs40,000 simply does not add up. For a family of five in Karachi, poverty is not just a number it is the painful choice each day between paying a utility bill or having a meal. More families are pulling their children out of school to save on transport, and older people are skipping vital medicine just to keep some flour in the kitchen. It’s time for lawmakers to confront the structural inflation that is crushing the average person instead of focusing only on cosmetic subsidies. A “living wage” and stringent price limits on necessities must be our top priorities if we are to accomplish our 2030 goals. Millions more people will fall into a lifelong cycle of poverty if quick action is not taken to preserve the purchasing power of the poor. The writer is a 22-year old Data Science Student at UIT University, and he writes about socioeconomic development in Pakistan.