PM vows to bring 40 pc population of Pakistan out of poverty
by Kaswar Klasra
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3 (Gwadar Pro) - Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to bring 40 percent of the total population of Pakistan out of poverty.
Impressed by China's model which brought 750 million people out of poverty in three decades, Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to follow the same model to bring almost 40 percent population out of poverty.
Speaking to the public on a hotline on Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said poverty and inflation were among the factors confronting the middle, lower middle and poor population of Pakistan.
"I have a vision of bringing 40 percent population of Pakistan out of poverty. The deserving families will get direct subsidy from December this year under Ehsaas Programme to reduce the impact of inflation," Imran Khan announced.
Government officials said Prime Minister Imran Khan has been studying China's model for months and finally decided to implement it here to bring the poor out of absolute poverty.
Earlier this year in March, Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated President Xi Jinping for "eradicating extreme poverty" in China.
"I want to congratulate President Xi Jinping & the Chinese government for the momentous achievement of eradicating extreme poverty in their country. Never before in history have 750 million people been taken out of extreme poverty in a span of 35 years. For developing countries like Pakistan there are lessons to be learnt. With determination and commitment we can do the same for our people," Imran Khan had stated earlier in March this year.
A senior official from the office of Prime Minister Imran Khan said the premier had been studying a few models of poverty elevation and economic revival including Japan, Malaysia, China and South Korea. “Premier has finally chosen to follow China's model of poverty alleviation with minor changes in original China's plan," a senior official from Prime Minister Imran Khan's office told Gwadar Pro.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been praising the Chinese development model on different occasions. Earlier in January this year Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to learn from China's industrial development to accelerate economic growth and eradicate poverty.
"If we can learn from any country in the world, it is China. Their development model suits Pakistan the best," Mr. Khan said while speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad earlier in January this year.
"The speed with which China has developed in the last 30 years is something we can learn from," he added. Mr. Khan said that Beijing had managed to prove that poverty alleviation is a real development.
It seems Imran Khan took six years to decide which model to follow to eradicate poverty in Pakistan.
Analysts in Pakistan say Imran Khan has laid the foundation of eradication of poverty from Pakistan by announcing incentives and subsidies to 40 percent of the country's total population.
"Prime Minister Imran Khan has the guts and determination to bring the masses out of absolute poverty. He has chosen the world's best model of poverty alleviation to follow. I am sure, it is going to work like it [China's model of poverty alleviation] did in China," Tahir Jamil, professor of Quaid-I-Azam University in Islamabad told Gwadar Pro via telephone.
