Social Protection and Poverty Support

[sparklingway]

Why you might ask will the running parties be re-elected and your Imran Khan orgasms will be useless?

From "Social Protection in Pakistan: In the Midst of a Paradigm Shift?" (Haris Gazdar - EPW)

There was a severalfold increase in fiscal allocations for social protection in Pakistan in 2008. This coincided with a change of government and heightened public concerns about the adverse impact on poverty of the economic crisis. Federal as well as provincial governments demonstrated an unprecedented level of commitment to cash transfers and other programmes aimed specifically at the poor and vulnerable. The federal government’s Benazir Income Support Programme was protected by law, and became the first targeted cash transfer programme to reach up to 7% of all households. It is too soon to say that social protection in Pakistan has finally turned a corner since the future course of public policy is vulnerable to political turbulence. This paper argues for measures that will signal that there has indeed been an irreversible paradigm shift

Read the entire paper. If you're reading this, you're definitely not a recipient of BISP or any social support programme. Your anger will be useless come election time when Rs 1,000/month cash transfer and Rs 2 roti will be more important than removal of subsidy on petrol for your private cars.

http://beta.epw.in/static_media/PDF/archives_pdf/2011/07/PE_XLVI_30_230711_Vinay_Sitapati.pdf