ISLAMABAD: Terming the Planning Commission's recent poverty survey contrary to the ground realities, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf has refuted federal government's claims about alleviating poverty.

Senior PTI leader Jahangir Tareen stated that the data presented in the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released by the commission, could not be regarded less than a blatant attempt to mislead the nation.

An institution like the Planning Commission, he said, has been reduced to strengthen federal government's propaganda spree through fabrication and transformation of critical social/economic data according to the convenience of the ruling party. "The logic behind this extremely suspicious survey cannot be comprehended especially in the presence of demographic survey and statistics gathered on education, heath, household and environment on regular intervals," he said adding that the federal government seeks either to show all is well or to claim finances from overseas donors/financial institutions.

Tareen further said that the government's inclination towards engineering this kind of repute less surveys instead of paying heed to the much-needed censes is extremely surprising. Reality, he says, could be testified if facts advanced by Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning and Development, are compared with the economic survey launched by the finance minister. "Had those prepared the survey report checked data given in economic survey, they would have refrained from making these assertions," he said.   PTI senior leader further stated that the MPI is nothing but an attempt to humiliate majority chunk of the population that is living in the rural areas and is highly dependent on agriculture for their living since the government have already forced agriculture to underproduction i.e. -0.19 per cent.–Staff Reporter

Raising different questions about the sanctity of the survey, he asked how the government could be justified in claiming of reducing poverty when imports and production fell substantially, unemployment mounts to more than 150 per cent and we barely find any substantial increase in per capita income. The depleting buying-capacity and an economy heavily dependent on foreign assistance/debt in no way can be regarded as signs of progress and poverty alleviation in an economy.

He said that how the government claims the credit of slashing the poverty when it had to increase financial recourses for the poor-oriented income support programme. The federal government should come up with meaningful measures to actually address the expanding poverty threat instead of looking forward to promote confusion through misleading propaganda spree, he concluded.