It has rightly been said that islands of affluence cannot exist in oceans of poverty. It can be interpreted to mean that a system which serves the interests of an elite class while the majority of the people live below the poverty line has no future and will always remain vulnerable to political instability, chaos, and upheavals. In certain cases, it might lead to an uprising dismantling the entire edifice of the elitist structure.

It is indeed a matter of great shame that even after 77 years since the creation of Pakistan, nearly half of its population lives below the poverty line. The successive regimes have failed to choreograph a credible system of poverty alleviation, though they were never found lacking in giving false hopes to the teeming millions while building their own fortunes, taking advantage of the in-built avenues of corruption in the system of governance. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has warned that climate change and unchecked population growth are the biggest challenges facing the country that derail Pakistan’s march to becoming a $3 trillion economy. He is right on the money to call them existential challenges. Pakistan is one of the seven most affected countries by climate change, which is the biggest blow to economic growth. The 2022 monsoon floods submerged a third of the country, affecting 33 million people and causing $30 billion in damage. The 2025 floods displaced millions more and killed nearly a thousand, likely causing even greater financial losses.

These damages are beyond the capacity of a country with GDP growth hovering between 2 and 3 per cent and a population growth rate of 2.5 per cent, which cancels out whatever development takes place, bringing the growth to........

© Daily Times