Islamabad: Pakistan’s efforts to reduce poverty have suffered significant setbacks since 2018 due to political instability, policy discontinuity, economic crises, and climate shocks, according to Press Information Department. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal highlighted these challenges on Wednesday during a high-level event focused on advancing multidimensional poverty measurement for evidence-based policy and action.

Addressing the gathering, which included Professor Sabina Alkire from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, the Minister outlined a renewed national agenda to refocus on targeted public investment and sustainable poverty reduction. He recalled that during the 2013-18 tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, poverty rates declined significantly, but recent estimates indicate a reversal of this progress.

The Minister attributed the decline in poverty reduction momentum to multiple factors, including a political climate marked by uncertainty and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and severe climate events. He emphasized the importance of political stability, sustained economic growth, and continuity in development priorities to regain momentum.

Professor Iqbal also drew attention to the constrained fiscal space for public investment, highlighting that the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has remained nominally unchanged since 2017-18, despite rising population and development needs. He warned that the reduced capacity for public investment has serious implications for essential services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

In his address, the Minister called for completing the devolution process initiated under the 18th Constitutional Amendment and empowering local governments to improve service delivery. He stressed the need for effective implementation of Article 140A, which mandates the transfer of authority to elected local governments, supported by functioning Provincial Finance Commissions.

Professor Iqbal also spoke about Pakistan’s partnership with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, which led to the launch of the country’s first National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in 2016. The government now plans to update this measurement with the proposed National MPI 2027, incorporating emerging development challenges like climate vulnerability and gender inequality.

He highlighted the importance of integrating multidimensional poverty evidence into development planning and called for a coordinated, evidence-driven approach to poverty reduction. The Minister emphasized that the success of development policies should be measured by tangible improvements in education, health, and livelihoods, and urged stakeholders to collaborate in translating poverty measurement into practical policy interventions.