THE stark incongruity of Pakistan’s elite-captured society was highlighted by two contrasting reports last week. While the planning ministry’s Household Integrated Economic Survey revealed that poverty had surged to a record high, separate news reports disclosed that the Punjab government has acquired a multimillion-dollar luxury jet, seemingly for VVIP travel. The paradox could not be more revealing.
In a country where 29 per cent of the population — around 70 million people — survive below the poverty line of Rs8,484 per month, according to the HIES, the ruling elite has no qualms about indulging in a life of luxury at taxpayers’ expense. This is obscene for a country where millions of children are out of school. Moreover, the country is heavily indebted to external lenders. But despite the IMF’s bailout, the economy is in the ICU. Unfortunately, that hardly matters to those at the helm.
It is not just about acquiring a luxury jet, reportedly for the chief minister; it also demonstrates the priorities of the ruling elite and the impunity they enjoy. Spending extravagantly on Punjab’s top echelons, as reported in the media, is criminal at a time when the people are overburdened with taxes. Billions of rupees are being spent on projecting the chief minister whose mandate is arguably questionable. The Punjab government’s silence over the plane scandal reflects the arrogance of power.
Massive advertisement campaigns — paid for by taxpayers — have also been used to tame the media in order to create the illusion of development and good governance. But the plane scandal has laid bare this fallacy. TV advertisements regarding government performance cannot cover up the growing economic and social disparity in the province and outside as shown in the government’s own report. Poverty has surged in Punjab from 16.5pc to 23.3pc within seven years mostly in the backward southern districts and rural areas. More and more people have been falling under the poverty line in the country for the past one decade; the latest poverty figure is the highest. The unemployment rate is more than 7pc — the highest in the past 21 years. Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and poor has widened significantly.
The ruling elite has no qualms about indulging in a life of luxury at taxpayers’ expense.
Economic and social disparities are characterised by the sharp urban-rural divide, extreme wealth concentration and severe regional imbalances. Reports say that 39.5pc of the country’s population faces multidimensional poverty, with the top 10pc owning around 60pc of the national wealth, while 36pc of children from five to 16 years are out of school primarily in the rural areas and underdeveloped provinces. Gender disparities are more acute with half of the rural women never having attended school. Disparities exist in access to healthcare and basic services, with marginalised communities in remote regions facing the most neglect.
Most alarming is the stark disparity among the provinces. While Punjab is much better off compared to the other provinces, KP and Balochistan have poverty rates of 35pc and 47pc respectively. Such disparity reflects the unequal distribution of resources among the provinces. While Punjab gets the lion’s share, Balochistan and KP’s former Fata districts get a trickle. This unfair distribution of resources has been a major reason behind the growing unrest in these two politically unstable regions.
An earlier report by the Population Council pointed out that most of the economically vulnerable districts are in Balochistan and in the former tribal districts in KP. These districts lack even basic health and education facilities. The unemployment rate is the highest in these areas, which lack economic development.
According to the report more than 65pc of the population in Balochistan’s vulnerable districts inhabit temporary or makeshift homes; 50pc do not even have toilet facilities; and 40pc must do without proper water facilities. In these most vulnerable districts, people are deprived of easy access to roads, transport facilities and even phones. It’s different in Punjab, where there is much better access to these facilities, especially in the northern and central areas.
In the former Fata districts, the majority of the population lives below the poverty line. Prior to the merger of Fata into KP, the federal government had promised an annual release of Rs100 billion for a decade to spur development in the war-torn tribal region, bringing it at par with other parts of the country. But only a fraction of the promised funds has been released by the centre since the merger in 2018. Punjab and the two other provinces have refused to pay their share to that fund as was originally promised. The irony is that Punjab can reportedly spend Rs11 billion to acquire a VVIP jet but is not willing to contribute to the development of the war-ravaged region.
There is a strong correlation between poverty and militancy. It’s not a coincidence that the economically backward regions of KP and Balochistan are most affected by the ongoing insurgency. Deprived of basic economic and democratic rights people there are becoming increasingly alienated from the state. Unfortunately, the state has done nothing to address these issues, relying, instead, on brute force to deal with the problem. Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that the youth in large numbers are easy recruits for militant groups in Balochistan. More importantly, shrinking democratic space has made it extremely difficult for the people to get their economic rights. These vulnerable areas in KP and Balochistan are rich in minerals and the central government is hopeful about drawing foreign investors to the sector. But nothing is being done to improve the lives of the people. Discontent is turning matters volatile.
Growing regional disparities, denial of democratic and economic rights and the widening gap between the rich and poor have created a dangerous situation. Yet, the ruling elite doesn’t realise the gravity of the situation. The acquisition of an expensive jet for the Punjab CM in times of worsening poverty is just one aspect of an elite-dominated power structure.
The writer is an author and journalist.
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2026
