Awaam Pakistan Budget Seminar | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi | Miftah Ismail | Budget 2026-27
Speech of Miftah Ismail (Secretary General, Awaam Pakistan):
This will be Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s fifth budget. Apart from him, only Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto presented four budgets during his tenure.
How has the economy performed? From 2000 to 2018, poverty generally declined. However, from 2018 to the present, poverty has increased significantly. Today, both the poverty rate and the number of people living in poverty are among the highest in recent years—around 29% of Pakistanis are living below the poverty line.
We often do not consider someone earning Rs. 8,500 per month to be poor, but the reality is very different. Nearly 30% of the population is living in extreme deprivation. At this income level, many households struggle to meet even basic needs, including two meals a day, highlighting the depth of the ongoing economic hardship.
Dr. Miftah Ismail stated that this budget comes at a time when Pakistan is facing deep economic stress, rising inflation, and increasing pressure on low and middle-income households. He highlighted that poverty trends have worsened in recent years, with a significant rise in the number of people falling below the poverty line.
He pointed out that while economic conditions between 2000 and 2018 showed relative improvement in poverty reduction, the situation has reversed in recent years, leading to widening inequality and shrinking real incomes.
He emphasized that nearly 30% of Pakistan’s population is now living below the poverty line, and a large segment of society survives on extremely limited income levels, making even basic necessities like food difficult to afford.
He further stressed the urgent need for structural reforms in taxation, energy pricing, and public spending. According to him, sustainable economic recovery can only be achieved through productivity-driven growth, investment-friendly policies, and targeted relief for the most vulnerable segments of society.
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