Pakistani Welfare Programme Implemented To Assist Low-Income Households

Written by: INcontext International
Article source: www.incontextinternational.org

On Wednesday 3 November, in an address to the nation, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a welfare programme of $709 million to ease the financial burden on low-income households as the prices of essentials soar. The subsidies will last for six months, whereby eligible families will be entitled to a 30% discount on the purchase of ghee, flour, and pulses. The federal and provincial governments will then make up the difference to retailers in the form of subsidy payments.

Mr Khan explained that this was a step towards making Pakistan a true welfare state, as the initiative will benefit 130 million people across the country. He also announced the launch of a programme called “Kamyab Pakistan”, which aims at funding interest-free loans to about four million people and providing skills education, scholarships, and school stipends. He did, however, warn that the government would probably need to increase the price of petrol and diesel further due to the rise in global oil prices.

Mr Khan also acknowledged that inflation was a major problem in the country. Over the past year, food inflation for core commodities has been extraordinarily high, with the price of ghee increasing by 43%, flour by 12.97%, and certain pulses by 17.62%. According to the World Bank, COVID-19 has heavily impacted Pakistan’s economy, with economic growth slowing to 0.53% in 2020. Since May, the Pakistani rupee has lost 13.1% of its value against the US dollar.

FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

The Bible speaks at length about the Lord’s heart toward the poor and how the Church should respond to those in need. Proverbs 19:17 (ESV) says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” In this Muslim-majority country, Christians are generally considered second-class citizens and are commonly given jobs perceived as lowly or dishonourable.

Even if among the middle class, Christians are considered inferior to their Muslim counterparts. Given their position in Pakistani society, where they can also face extreme workplace discrimination and be victims of bonded labour, Christians are severely affected by the soaring food prices. At the same time, Pakistan is also home to more than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees, however, there has been a recent surge in unregistered Afghan refugees due to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

Since they are unregistered and fled their homes with no documentation, they do not qualify for the welfare programme. An INcontext contact shared that people in Pakistan tend to safeguard the interests of those of the same religion or ethnic group as their own and such programmes hardly benefit disadvantaged minorities like Christians and refugees. However, Isaiah 41:17 tells us that the Lord will answer those who are poor and needy. We can be sure that even if man turns a deaf ear to those in need, the Lord hears, cares and answers.

Please pray with us for the following:

• For the government and those responsible for organising and administering the welfare programme, loans and skills education to be fair and inclusive, so that Christians and other minority groups will also benefit
• For the basic needs of the minority groups and refugees to be met
• For protection over the Church of Pakistan and that they would be resilient in their faith despite opposition and discrimination

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Date published: 02/12/2021
Feature image: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. U.S. Institute of Peace/www.flickr.com

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