PTI describes World Bank’s poverty report as ‘a charge sheet’ against govt
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday termed the World Bank’s latest poverty report a charge sheet against the “self-serving” ruling elite, saying its flawed policies have pushed millions of Pakistanis deeper into poverty.
The party seized on the World Bank’s latest Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP) outlook, which, it said, highlighted the severity of Pakistan’s poverty crisis.
According to the PTI, Pakistan accounts for around 48 percent of people in the region living below the USD3-a-day poverty line, while Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen together account for another 47 percent.
It noted that poverty at the USD3-a-day threshold increased by 6.4 percentage points between 2018-19 and 2024-25, while poverty measured at USD4.20 a day rose by 3.2 percentage points during the same period.
“This is not merely a World Bank report, it is a charge sheet against the hopeless and self-serving ruling elite,” the party said.
The PTI accused those in power of relying on higher taxes, increased fuel and electricity prices and repeated borrowing instead of pursuing long-term economic reforms.
It challenged the ruling leadership to disclose their assets and those of their families and explain how their wealth had grown while ordinary Pakistanis faced declining purchasing power and rising living costs.
The party called for policies focused on employment, productive investment and industrial growth, arguing that the public could no longer be made to bear the cost of economic mismanagement.
The PTI also renewed its criticism of the government over the imprisonment and medical care of party chairman Imran Khan, alleging that authorities had restricted his access to family members, lawyers, political colleagues, books, newspapers and television.
It said a government-constituted medical board comprising Dr Farqad Alamgir, Dr Arif Khan, Dr Akhtar Ali Bandesha and Dr Ali Arif had recommended that Khan be allowed a daily one-hour walk to help manage his blood pressure and anxiety.
The board had also recommended greater access to family members, newspapers, television and books, as well as more frequent meetings with his wife, according to the party.
The PTI demanded immediate implementation of the recommendations and repeated its call for Khan to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for treatment under the supervision of his personal doctors.
It also demanded the release of Bushra Bibi and what it described as all other political prisoners.
The party rejected threats from federal ministers against the PTI and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, accusing the authorities of using raids, harassment and other measures against its workers and supporters.
It also criticised the Sharif family over what it described as silence during Indian aggression against Pakistan, and questioned the Punjab chief minister’s prolonged stay in Muscat and the expenditure involved.
The PTI urged the government to stop treating political opponents as enemies and end what it called interference in the elected KP government.
It further accused ministers of obstructing dialogue because they feared the political consequences of Imran Khan’s release.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026