ISLAMABAD: The government has set up a high-powered committee to calculate the latest poverty and inequality figures for Pakistan at both national and provincial levels.
The new Poverty Estimation Committee also includes representatives from major international donor organisations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UNICEF.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the committee was formed after the completion of the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2024-25. The ministry is responsible for estimating national poverty and inequality figures.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has approved the formation of the 17-member committee, which will be led by Dr G.M. Arif, former Joint Director of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).
Committee Members
The committee includes well-known economists, government officials and donor representatives. Members include:
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Dr G.M. Arif, former Joint Director, PIDE (Chairperson)
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Dr Nadeem Javaid, Vice Chancellor, PIDE
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Dr Aliya H. Khan, former professor, Quaid-i-Azam University
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Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI
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Dr Rashid Bajwa, CEO, National Rural Support Programme
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Dr Hadia Majid, Head of Economics Department, LUMS
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Dr Asma Hyder, Dean, IBA Karachi
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Dr Akhtar Hussain Shah, former Planning Division member
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Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of National Food Security, and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
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Chief economists from all provinces
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Ali Raza, UNICEF poverty consultant
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Dr Babur Wasim, Senior Economist, ADB
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Christina Wieser, Senior Economist, World Bank Pakistan
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Joint Chief Economist (Economic Policy), Ministry of Planning (Secretary).
Terms of Reference (ToRs)
The committee will:
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Estimate national and provincial poverty and inequality figures using the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method with HIES 2024-25 data.
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Review and update the national poverty line, considering changes since 2013-14.
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Prepare a draft report with poverty and inequality estimates for all provinces.
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Conduct a detailed analysis of poverty trends, causes and contributing factors.
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Poverty Trend Background
Officials said Pakistan has historically used the CBN method adjusted with CPI inflation. Using this approach, the poverty rate fell from 50.4% in 2005-06 to 21.9% in 2018-19.
In 2018-19, poverty stood at 11% in urban areas and 28.2% in rural areas.
Pakistan adopted the global CBN method after consulting a World Bank expert. Officials noted that in Pakistan, economic growth and poverty reduction generally moved together, while in countries like Vietnam, growth increased but poverty also rose, leading to a revision of poverty lines.
Meanwhile, the government has also completed the Labour Force Survey, which will be released soon.
This correspondent contacted Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal for comments on the committee and the inclusion of donor agencies, but no response was received.
