Poverty’s relentless march
Keeping in mind the economic trend and pace of development in Pakistan, economists have predicted that urban poverty will prove to be a lasting ailment
By Asadullah 
"Unlike its urban counterpart, rural poverty is growing at the relatively slower pace of about 3.5 percent," claims noted economist Dr Kaiser Bengali. By contrast, urban poverty in Pakistan has been growing at a rate of six to seven percent in the last 15 years. According to Bengali, urban poverty remains intensive compared to rural poverty, which is extensive in nature.

On the highway to progress
With the coming of the district government and a comprehensive Master Plan, the future of Hyderabad looks bright
By Adeel Pathan
However important Hyderabad may have been to Pakistan both before and after the partition, it was not until this year that it transformed into one of the developing cities of Sindh.  

book launch
Broadening the Tunnel Vision
Limited perception. Narrow-mindedness. Complex human relationships. Shandana Minhas shared the plot of her debut novel and her first writing experience in an evening with Karachiites recently
‘Writing my debut novel was a matter of urgency otherwise my head would have exploded’ were the words of the author of Tunnel Vision, Shandana Minhas, who shared her writing experience before an audience at The Second Floor last week. 

In less than three months, more than six cases have been reported in Pakistan of parents offering either their children or their organs, such as kidneys, for sale as a last resort to raise money for one reason or another. Sometimes it is done to treat an ailing family member while in other instances it is to feed the family.

The disturbing trend has caught on in parts of Sindh, especially in Karachi, owing to increasing poverty and lack of economic opportunities caused as a result of a deteriorating economy. It is not just rising prices but also limited employment opportunities that are pushing people to desperation.

This is worsened by the increasing influx of migrants from rural parts of Sindh to Karachi for work. This unending stream of people has crippled infrastructure and put pressure on limited civic services, in the process pushing many into poverty.

Despite the challenges of living in an urban area, migrants are unwilling to return to their homes in the rural areas. This, in turn, has increased the density of squatter settlements in various parts of the city.

Squatter settlements: an obstacle to development?

While economists believe that it is the haphazard growth of these squatters settlements that stand in the way of the financial capitalís rapid progress, sociologists say there is no way to prevent this. ìYes there is poverty in the city, but the socioeconomic indicators here are much better when compared to rural parts of Sindh or other provinces,î Tasneem Siddiqui, Director Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority (SKAA), says.

Earning in rural areas, where the population is scattered, is quite difficult, he adds. "Here a vendor can easily make approximately Rs200 daily which is unthinkable of in villages so it is wrong to say they have no right to come here. Everyone aims to improve their economic condition in the long term."

Siddiqui says more than the absolute poor in this city, which includes rag pickers, beggars and drug addicts, it is the earning class that suffers. "The absolute poor still make some money by begging or picking garbage and are offered free food daily outside various restaurants across the city, but it is the earning class that has difficulty in making ends meet."

With rising inflation, the self-employed labour class comprising electricians, plumbers and others in the service industry can increase their service charges accordingly, but those earning a fixed salary a month are now finding it difficult to even afford basics like health, electricity and education.

Breaking the poverty-hunger trap

Muhammad Jawed Qadri, Administrator Saylani Welfare Trust, an NGO providing free food service to people across the city, concurs. "We have noted an over 100 per cent increase in the number of people gathered at public hospitals for free food as compared to last year. During these months last year, we were feeding around 12,000 people daily. Now that number has risen to 33, 000," estimates Qadri. The NGO runs its service from 11:00am to 10:00pm daily in different hospitals and low-income neighbourhoods.

The situation is getting worse, he adds. "Earlier, only the poorest of the poor were seen queuing at our stalls. Now, there are security guards, rickshaw drivers and some well-dressed men on motorbikes who quietly come, have lunch and leave." Qadri says the officials refrain from asking personal questions but some voluntarily share their stories.

Through free food services by NGOs like Saylani Welfare and Edhi, most men have been able to save upto Rs30 to 40 daily (approximately Rs1, 200 per month). With these savings, they are able to meet the extra expenses at home like the increasing school fee and utility bills. Qadri fears if the government continues to ignore this pressing problem ‘things may get out of hand.’

Sharing her experience is another activist, Nargis Rahman, President Pakistan Womenís Foundation for Peace. The foundation runs a school near the Mewashah graveyard in the Trans Lyari area. "Most women unable to afford the school fee have been pulling their children out of school and selling their female child into prostitution while the male child is pushed into taking up a job at a workshop [where he is further sexually abused] to support the family as well," she says adding: "This is leading to moral degradation of the society as well and needs to be checked by the government."

‘Benazir Income Support Programme not viable’

Commenting on the feasibility of the Benazir Income Support Programme worth Rs32 billion, Rahman felt ìit is impractical to reduce poverty by handing over Rs1, 000 per month to the poor.î Siddiqui adds that the practice would encourage the trend and increase dependency when the government should be aiming at making the poor economically independent.

He added that micro-credit financing in rural parts of Sindh and other provinces to empower women would also not yield the desired results unless gainful enterprise is guaranteed. "Instead of giving away loans and a monthly stipend, the government needs to invest in skilled training at this point. That is what we lack the most. There are jobs for paramedics and sub-engineers in the industry but no trained professionals because the education sector is completely being ignored by the government," he laments. "And with the IMF loan and its strict conditions, public spending will further be affected."

This acute shortage of trained professionals gives rise to unemployment that has further brought a negative implication for Karachi in the form of street crime. "It is not the poor who are robbing people of their valuables in daylight but educated young men from the lower and middle-income groups who are frustrated with unemployment and increasing expenditures."

High transport cost: an added burden

Partly to blame is the inefficient transport system as well, adds Siddiqui. Due to the absence of a cheap railway system, most poor groups have to travel long distances to get to and from work (sometimes more than two hours a day) spending most of their income on bus fares. "Low-income groups in this urban area are found to spend more than ten per cent of their income on bus fares," reveals a study.

"Moreover, it is essential that we regularize squatter settlements like has happened in Orangi Town and plan the cityís infrastructure according to the growing needs of the population," suggests Siddiqui. "Once they have proper water, sewage and transport system in place, they will be able to save more as their health problems will also decrease." According to SKAA’s findings, 55 per cent of Karachiís population dwells in squatters.

Until the government addresses the needs of this floating population of low and middle-income group struggling with inflationary trends, warn experts, the number of people willing to sell their organs or children is expected to rise and this can lead to a further deteriorating law and order situation in this city of 16million - a major contributor of the national economy.

On December 27, 2007, as thousands thronged the old Karachi airport to receive their leader, they did so in anticipation that the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto would provide solutions to their issues of poverty. Expectations of the voters of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) aside, poverty is not a simple problem to tackle.

Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre (MHHDC) Director, Dr Sadia M Malik, believes that poverty is a multidimensional issue. "Poverty is the denial of opportunities, as inequality in opportunity should be considered more critical in defining poverty than simply taking into account inequality in income," explains Dr Malik while talking to Kolachi.

According to Dr Malik, poverty though cannot be described in terms of income and consumption alone. A definition of poverty should entail going beyond income and consumption deprivation, and including factors such as the denial of quality education, better nutrition and health services, security against crime and violence, satisfying leisure hours, as well as political and cultural freedoms constitute better indicative factors of poverty.  

Whether the government acknowledges such a definitional framework remains a moot point, however it has developed a three-pronged strategy to tackle poverty. According to Sindh Government Labour Department Secretary Alam Din Bullo, "The first component of the strategy is to provide jobs in the government sector. The second is to focus on human resource development. The third deals with the distribution of land among landless hari women". The first and second components of the government’s strategy deal more in terms with urban poverty.  

Bullo disclosed that the provincial government sought information from all departments regarding vacancies in grades 1 to 14. These amounted to between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs. These vacancies were then advertised through national newspapers. "Recruitment to most of these vacancies would be completed by February next year," he informs. 

While the provincial government takes such measures, imperatives of the national economy dictate otherwise. Under the terms of the proposed economic stabilisation programme extended to Pakistan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country is set to shrink its non-development budget and current expenditures over the next 21 months. Any new employment remains in the balance if IMF conditions are to be met.  

According to Bullo, "With regards to the second component, the government believes that there is a serious dearth of skilled professionals in all fields. In order to start rectifying this skill gap, the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program has been initiated, according to which 40,000 youth are being imparted training in 27 trades. These include construction workers, painters, electricians, mechanics and computer professionals. According to the programme, Rs4000 to Rs6000 are given as stipends to individuals receiving training".

Similar attempts have also been made by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) to train personnel for call centres. Such measures can be read as capacity building measures, but the critical question remains whether enough investment or jobs exist in these sectors.  

According to Dr Malik, the focus of the government should be on developing institutional measures to raise capacities of individuals to exercise their potential. "The primary factor that could produce equal opportunity for all is education, especially at the primary and secondary levels. Any meaningful attempt to alleviate poverty must provide equal opportunity to all," she said.  

In a scenario where income is not guaranteed, the government has introduced the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Commenting on the scheme, Bullo said that it had short-term advantages to it, as the poor needed some relief in this age of poverty. "Although a comprehensive review and plan to alleviate poverty is needed, such a plan would be a long-term measure and would take at least a decade to come into effect. The BISP however provides immediate relief to the poor," Bullo said.

He urged the rich and fortunate to step forward and aid the government in providing relief to the poor. Dr Malik concurred with the view that the BISP was a short-term measure, although a positive one. Despite problems in identification of those that would benefit from the scheme and managements of funds, she said that "the scheme is a shot in the arm for the poor."

The price hike in essential commodities has resulted in a rise in the number of people living below the poverty line, and for those who migrate to Karachi from pther parts of the country, the situation remains bleak.

The majority of these job-seekers are uneducated, and the first problem they face after arriving in the city is accommodation.  High rental costs prevent them from moving to developed areas. All they are left with are areas such as Hijrat Colony, Sultanabad, Bilal Colony, Gulzar Colony, and many others areas - otherwise known as ‘katchi abadis’ - that has led to a haphazard growth of squatter settlements in the city.

Sharif Awan, the UC (Union Council) Nazim of Hijrat Colony, says that biggest problem of his area is encroachment. "We make our lives miserable ourselves by encroaching," he laments.

He blames the political influence of certain individuals for the ongoing encroachment, which has rendered some streets of the area unsuitable for traffic.

Awan does not believe that Hijrat Colony was ever a priority for development with the authorities concerned, although he commended the work Jamshed Ahmed Khan did during his tenure as Chairman of Zonal Municipal Corporation (South) from 1987-1992.

Today, Hijrat Colony is known for its narrow, twisting streets that have no lighting arrangements. A shortcut from Sultanabad, a distance which can only be covered by foot, leads to the back of Hijrat Colony, where sewage water has accumulated.

Most of the streets in Sultanabad are narrow and this road is ‘wide’ enough for just one person. Vehicles can arrive at Hijrat Colony from Ahmed Raza Khan Road from the PIDC bridge, but this road is usually jammed.

Owing to the efforts of the area’s union council the water lines are intact and do not require electricity. However, the area is riddled with other problems. Plots of land at Hijrat Colony, for example, measure just 30 to 40 square yards, with majority of the houses having no system of ventilation. Most of the structures are multi-storied, with the first floor of one house seemingly touching the house on the opposite street.

There are many other areas like Hijrat Colony, such as Sharifabad, Bilal Colony, and Gulzar Colony. Here, heaps of garbage is often seen lying around. Sewage water, too, accumulates in certain areas. The unhygienic conditions have caused a number of children and elders to suffer from respiratory-related diseases.

In Gulzar Colony, which is the part of Korangi Town, UC-1, a number of leather factories have been set up, which has caused the inhabitants additional problems. Water supply lines have been laid down, but do not currently work.

It is estimated that 35 streets in the area are uncarpeted. Many of these are littered with open manholes, leading to the deaths of several children.

However, the migrants have nowhere else to go.

"It has been six months since we’ve had three square meals a day," begins Sardar Begum, 45.

Begum, a mother of five, is married to a labourer who earns Rs6, 000 a month. Normally, he would earn Rs4, 500 a month, but this year, the salaries of labourers has been raised to accommodate for inflation.

But according to Sardar, this is still not enough to make ends meet.

"The food inflation has doubled this year," she says. Unlike last year, she is now forced to compromise on the amount of food she buys. The luxury of cooking three meals a day and having meat every other day is one that her family can no longer afford.

"I serve meals only twice a day, meat just once a week."

Sardar relates that this is because a 10-kilogram bag of flour that cost Rs250 last year now costs Rs350, while a quarter portion of meat now costs Rs50 instead of the previous Rs25. Moreover, the prices of cooking oil, milk, rice, and pulses have almost doubled.

"A packet of cooking oil now costs Rs600 instead of Rs300. Milk costs Rs40 per litre instead of Rs22, while rice costs up to Rs70 instead of Rs40 last year."

However, Sardar laments that while the prices have doubled, income has not.

"My husband’s income has increased a bit, and I earn a few hundred rupees by stitching school uniforms on a contract basis, but all of it is spent on food, which is not the only expenditure in life," says Sardar.

Daily expenses come up to Rs250, and double in the case of medical bills. As a result, Sardar has taken her only son out of school and put him to work in an auto workshop.

"I don’t want my children to make ends meet by robbing people off," Sardar explains, adding that this is why she is forcing them to survive on reduced food supplies and getting them used to and earning a living at an early age.

However, it is not just the poor who find it difficult to make ends meet. The middle-class is struggling to maintain their living standards as well. Like Sardar, Roohi Aijaz and Shahida Javaid face the same difficulties in maintaining their lifestyle. Aijaz, wife of a banker and a mother of two, runs her house with Rs40, 000, and has to compromise on the quality of rice she gets.

"The Rs60/kg rice I used to buy until January now costs me up to Rs120 rupees," rues Aijaz, and complains that she now had to get low-quality rice for Rs50 rupees. Owing to the economic recession, her husband did not get a raise from the bank. Because of this, Aijaz has not only had to compromise on the quality of food, but has also had to curb her shopping sprees.

"Instead of buying clothes or shoes every other week, I now visit shopping centres once in two months," Aijaz tells Kolachi, and adds that now, instead of eating out every other week, her family eats out just once a month.

 "We have been using our eldest daughter’s salary to meet expenses for three months now," she admits with a twinge of guilt. Aijaz’s daughter works part-time at an audit firm, and until last year, the family was able to save a few thousand rupees in addition to her income.

Unlike Sardar and Aijaz, however, Shahida Javaid has been lucky. Wife of an industrialist, Javaid has had to make few compromises during the period of inflation. She has not had to cut down on any food items, although there has been one area where she has had to make adjustments.

"I did have to serve my Persian cat with home made food instead of canned," says Javaid, explaining that a can of cat food now costs twice as much as it used to.  

"Unlike its urban counterpart, rural poverty is growing at the relatively slower pace of about 3.5 percent," claims noted economist Dr Kaiser Bengali. By contrast, urban poverty in Pakistan has been growing at a rate of six to seven percent in the last 15 years. According to Bengali, urban poverty remains intensive compared to rural poverty, which is extensive in nature.

"Rural poverty is linked to landlessness, whereas in urban areas, poverty is linked to unemployment," explained Bengali.

Rapid urbanisation is the prime contributing factor for rising urban poverty, but economists also blame (what they term to be) myopic economic plans involving cities. They claim that high rate of unemployment coupled with increasing cost of living and escalating transport cost, are all behind the rise in poverty in urban areas.

Bengali pointed out that regardless of whether it is in urban or in rural areas, poverty is not a natural phenomenon. He said that the bleak prospects of industrialisation were responsible for virtually zero percent prospects of employment.

"Even the automation of industry has decreased manual operation, compromising the number of workforce."    

However, Dr Shahid Hasan Siddiqui, another economist, stressed that cities needed industrialisation for employment opportunities.

"It is extremely difficult for an urban household to live on a monthly income of Rs6, 000 from a sole breadwinner," he said. He added that soaring prices of petroleum products since February have increased the burden on city dwellers in terms of travelling cost alone.  

"We have an import bill of US$40 billion, which has gone many folds upward with the depreciation of rupee against the US dollar," Siddiqui explained. "With the increased cost of production, this will make industrial goods relying on imported items even costlier."

Siddiqui pointed out that the increased 16 percent GST (General Sales Tax) through last fiscal budget was another thunderbolt, and was bound to raise the economic burden of a commoner.

"Increased GST is fanning the price hike. The prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed, whereas sources of income are stagnant." He also pointed out the flawed government policies related to poverty in urban areas, particularly the tax amnesty on undeclared assets.

"A salaried man who buys defence-saving certificates has to pay 10 per cent tax, whereas apparently ill-gotten money can be ‘whitened’ with a mere two per cent tax," he said, and added: "It should actually be 30 per cent."

On the highway to progress

With the coming of the district government and a comprehensive Master Plan, the future of Hyderabad looks bright

By Adeel Pathan

However important Hyderabad may have been to Pakistan both before and after the partition, it was not until this year that it transformed into one of the developing cities of Sindh.  

Despite the developmental work being carried out by the district government, the city was riddled with problems that come with a poor infrastructure. It was only with a new comprehensive Master Plan devised to improve the city that things changed for the better.  

Presently, Hyderabad is divided into four Talukas comprising Hyderabad city, Latifabad, Qasimabad and Hyderabad rural Taluka (which has no other name).

It is believed that one reason Hyderabad was neglected for so long was because the conventional political wisdom stated that the city focus on the larger picture of achieving democracy, but such an attitude stood in the way of development. 

This changed when a multi-billion rupee development package was prepared by the district government run by Pakistan People’s Party-backed Makhdoom Rafik Zaman. The projects were carried out once Muttahida Qaumi Movement-backed Kanwar Naveed Jameel took over as district nazim, and as a result, Hyderabad has begun to develop at a pace where the results are visible.  

The road network, for example, is being expanded to fill the space available in the area. Previously, this was not possible. Hyderabad is a district that began without proper planning, meaning that the rising population prevented the expansion of roads. Today, an extensive road network comprising more than ten overhead bridges is being developed.

One bridge has already been completed, and another is scheduled to be opened soon. Considering the population, this new addition to the landscape of Hyderabad looks to be both an attraction and a necessity. A number of civil society workers objected to the flyovers saying that such structures would damage the landscape of Hyderabad, but the complaints have decreased with time. 

The development projects also encompass the water supply and sewage systems, which are being improved by increasing the capacity of pumping stations and the capacity of water storage. New filter plants are being constructed to meet the water requirements for the coming decades. To ensure efficiency, stand-by generators and a dual power supply line have been connected with sewage and water supply stations. 

Economic improvement, too, is on the rise. The airport has been reopened, a crucial decision which will now attract investment opportunities and provide easy access for the business community in particular and citizens in general.

In addition, the efforts of business community in the city and the support of the district nazim enabled the provincial government to announce the expansion of the industrial area. For many years, the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry had been trying to get the industrial area of the city expanded, but to no avail. Now, 300 acres of land have been allotted for the industrial sector. To boost economic activities, the introduction of another industrial area is under consideration.

As part of the development projects, parks and gardens are also being restored in the city. Since outdoor recreation is something the citizens of Hyderabad have been deprived of for many years, old parks and gardens are being restored and new ones are being developed. Some have already been completed.

This drive to improve the way Hyderabad looked was launched a few years ago, but failed to yield many results. Now, in an effort to keep the city clean, the district nazim has banned wall-chalking everywhere. Moreover, the district government formed a committee headed by a union council Nazim Rauf Jafri for extensive plantation in the city and the design of a more appealing look for its roundabouts. One of the ‘new’ roundabouts can be seen on the road that leads to Radio Pakistan Hyderabad and Hyderabad Press Club.

Meanwhile, sporting activities have been revived, bringing Hyderabad back into the sport limelight. The hockey stadium has been completed and Niaz Stadium handed over to the Pakistan Cricket Board for maintenance. International matches have already been organised, and it is expected that Hyderabad will host more international cricket and hockey matches, as well as other sports, in future. 

Lastly, one aspect of the development of any city is the quality of education in state-run schools. When Kanwar Jameel took charge as district nazim, he used additional funds and converted nearly 200 Urdu and Sindhi medium schools into English-medium schools. After the change, refresher courses and teacher-training programmes have become routine. With due attention being paid by the authorities to the problems of Hyderabad, the future of the city looks bright.

‘Writing my debut novel was a matter of urgency otherwise my head would have exploded’ were the words of the author of Tunnel Vision, Shandana Minhas, who shared her writing experience before an audience at The Second Floor last week. 

Claiming to be an instinctive writer, Minhas wrote her first novel in haste in just two months. Despite this the book was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers Prize for ‘Best First Book.’ 

Tunnel Vision is the story of 31-year-old Ayesha Siddiqui, a Karachiite, who proposes to the man she loves. His silence makes her crash through the windshield of her car. In her comatose state, Ayesha’s thoughts float between the past and present. In the process, the narrative meanders through her life, throwing up startling facts about her immediate family, relatives and friends.  

After reading out selected excerpts from her book - launched at the coffee house - she responded to queries on the ‘missing glossary’ in the book, Minhas said she wrote the book for South Asian readers and not a foreign audience. She said she did not want to ‘limit her options’. "I’m a Pakistani and I love to be one."      

The 33-year-old said she was not trained in any way to write a novel, however, acknowledged her mother’s influence who was a literature teacher.

At the discussion, Minhas disclosed that she wrote the book after giving birth to her first child. Her yearning to write despite her first experience of motherhood when her pre-school son was eager to snatch her pen, was somewhat surprising. "It is a bio-chemical process and it reflects in Ayesha’s relationship with her mother in Tunnel Vision," she said, where the mother is suffering from postpartum depression.       

Dealing with a question about the stereotypical categorization of women writers and literature prizes, Minhas agreed that women have been writing about domestic stuff.

"There is a perception that women stories are set in home and issues related to it, but mine are not," she maintains. 

Sharing her experience was another Pakistani writer, Bina Shah, who added that the publishing industry was partially responsible for promoting stereotypical plots. Shah said the Oxford University Press does not publish fiction, whereas other local publishers have limited market compelling writers to look for publishers in the neighbouring country.  

Shah was critical of international publishers who, according to her, are obsessed with stories of opressed women. "It’s as if we are not people who can also have a real story to tell."

When inquired about getting her book published by an Indian publisher, Minhas too, claimed she could not find a local publisher and in her defense added that ‘she is a story-teller who is not concerned with marketing.’ The presence of writers like Minhas and Shah hence proves that Pakistani writers have more to them than made out to be and if given the right opportunity, the creative process in this country can also excel

— By Asadullah