China’s poverty alleviation is a roadmap for Pakistan to follow

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China’ goodbye to poverty new inspiration for Pakistan

National

INPNovember 28, 2020

ISLAMABAD: China’s goodbye to poverty beings new inspiration to Pakistan moving ahead more steadily ensuring well-being of its people, says a report carried by Gwadar Pro on Friday.

According to the report, China is coming out with inclusive victory over poverty as its last nine poverty-stricken counties in southwest China’s Guizhou Province are officially removed from the poverty list in line with the fulfillment of promise of shaking off poverty by the end of 2020.

Home to around 53 million poor people (a quarter of Pakistan’s population) who live below the national poverty line, Pakistan has the best model in place in shape of China to get rid of all faces of poverty in phases.

If it followed in true letter and spirit, Pakistan boasts a conspicuous chance to lift up big chunk of its society from sever poverty.

Since CPEC came to existence, Pakistan is the recipient of China’s friendliness ranging from G2G, B2B and people to people connectivity that have helped Pakistan to tune in its priorities as public-centric improving living standard of poor strata of society.

China’s feat (to delist all 832 countries including last nine impoverished counties identified as poverty-stricken) has made its immaculate mark at a time when Covid-19 stirred up unprecedented human crisis and jeopardized global economies leaving no option but to miss off their national and international targets.

Policies had to be revisited. Balance of payments were rescheduled. Sustainable Development Goals went in a whirlpool of uncertainty.

China could have revised its poverty alleviation campaign 2020. But it did not surrender and preferred to stand by its resolve. Eventually it achieved zero poverty in all nine counties.

Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan in a media interview said “he wants to replicate the Chinese model in Pakistan that lifted 700 million people out of poverty within a short period of 40 years.

“Despite not having electoral politics, the Chinese were good at bringing the best people to the top. It’s a system based on meritocracy,” Imran admired the Chinese model saying, “How the Communist Party sort of sifts through all the talent and brings it to the top.”

Faraz Danial, an economist said that Chinese influential vibes had already put positive impacts in Pakistan helping Pakistan to realign itself with sustainable prosperity. “Fresh inspiration from China is a bonanza that should never be slipped from our hands,” he added.

“Pakistan is committed to poverty alleviation in line with the SDGs target Goal-1 “No Poverty” in all its manifestations everywhere by 2030.

According to the Planning Commission, the poverty headcount ratio was 24.3 percent by estimating the poverty line for this period as Rs 3,250.28 per adult equivalent per month, which represented around 50 million people living below the national poverty line in 2015-16, the report added.