Daily Times

Sir: According to the latest report of the State Bank of Pakistan, 62 million people live below the poverty line in Pakistan. They do not earn enough for even the basic needs of life. Poverty has taken from them the ability to have a home, to drink clean water and to educate their children. Citing reasons for the sharp increase in poverty and the gap between the haves and have-nots, the report put the onus on inflation and on energy shortages. It is disturbing that in spite of all the efforts claimed to be put in by the governments, poverty has not gone down. It is so because the cosmetic efforts to earn votes in elections never bear fruit. Unless our government puts all its resources behind eliminating the twin evils of the energy crisis and illiteracy, no improvement in the situation of Pakistan — economically, socially, or religiously — would come about. The country has slipped many years behind the times. The leaders are fighting battles for their own survival. I wish they could at least read the Constitution of Pakistan once and let it sink into their consciences.

ERUM ALI
Karachi