A report launched by Government College University, Lahore in collaboration with Labour Education Foundation and Simorgh has revealed that South Asia may be home to 22 per cent of the world’s population but has only 1.3 per cent of global income. Lack of state support has been termed as a reason for an agricultural crisis which ends up compromising food security and farmers’ livelihoods. The issue of rapidly increasing poverty in the region has been a subject of public debates for quite some time, but the governments have done little to improve the situation. The South Asian countries have witnessed a number of internal and external conflicts over the years, and many argue that the changing regional situation in terms of security has diverted the governments’ attention away from the issues concerning the masses including health and education. Pakistan, for instance, has witnessed an increase in the defence budget every year which the government justifies in the name of the war against terrorism the country is engaged in. If budget allocations are anything to go by, poverty alleviation is clearly not among the priorities of the government. Public safety and security needs are undoubtedly important, but the people of the country also deserve to live in better conditions. A large number of the population lacks access to basic facilities such as health and education. The governments over the years have sadly shown negligence on this front and the budget spending on development often have to cut short to facilitate the cost of debt servicing and defence. It is time for the government to enhance bilateral relations with neighbouring countries to increase trade and other forms of cooperation. Things are not too different on the other side of the border. Poverty is a major concern in India too and concerns have been raised by several quarters over the consistent increase in defence budget when poverty is on the rise. Governments of both countries seem to attach more importance to strategic rivalries. If the two countries resolve their longstanding conflicts and avoid provocations through mutual cooperation, a significant portion of the heavy defence spending can be shifted towards lifting the people out of poverty. * Published in Daily Times, September 24th 2017.