Poverty in Pak reduced by 50 percent in Musharraf's regime: World Bank report

Islamabad, Aug 10(ANI): A World Bank survey has revealed that poverty in Pakistan had reduced by 50 percent under former President Pervez Musharraf's government.

"The percentage of the people living below the poverty line in Pakistan fell from 34.5 percent in 2001-02 to 17.2 percent in 2007-08," The News quoted the World Bank, as saying in its Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) paper.

The CPS is based on a survey conducted in fiscal year 2007-2008.

The survey stated that poverty in urban areas fell from 22.7 percent in 2001-02 to 10.1 percent in 2007-08, while in rural areas, it declined from 39.3 percent in 2001-02 to 20.6 percent in 2007-08.

"This progress was a result of growth in real per adult consumption expenditure and declining inequality from 2005-06 to 2007-08," the report said.

A World Bank official said that key human development indicators of educational attainment, health outcomes and unemployment rates also corroborated these figures.

The 2007-08 household survey results also suggest that poverty started rising towards the end of the fiscal year.

Officials said that the impact of the recent economic downturn on poverty levels in the country would only be known when the next household survey is conducted. (ANI)