Articles by S Akbar Zaidi



Around mid-1990s, there was growing awareness and recognition that after two decades of poverty reduction, these positive trends had either slowed down, or worse still, had been reversed. Many studies which analysed and explained these trends, argued that poverty in Pakistan had been reduced due to a combination of factors, including high and sustained growth over a fairly long period of time, by the role and contribution made by remittances from the West Asia, and by a public policy which was not so much focused upon poverty alleviation per se, but dependent more on overall government spending. Since 1988, when the government started following an IMF and World Bank structural adjustment programme, almost every single macro-economic indicator with some poverty reducing impact, began to worsen. Over the last decade, growth has slowed down markedly, development and social sector spending has been slashed, inflation has increased, manufacturing sector growth has been exceptionally low, and remittances have fallen to their lowest levels in 20 years. Hence, all the factors which may have had a positive influence on poverty alleviation, have deteriorated, possibly explaining why poverty returned to Pakistan and why it has continued to persist. With every government committed to such a stabilisation and restructuring programme, and with its own poor record of targeting for poverty alleviation, it is more than likely that poverty in Pakistan is going to grow and persist well into the future.

Reading World, 24/4, 1-7.
(1986): ' Using Closed-Captioned Television . in the Teaching of Reading to Deaf Students.' American Annuls of the Deaf 13/1, 43-46.

On Verge of Major Upheaval?
S Akbar Zaidi THE ancient Chinese curse 'may you live in interesting times' seems particularly apt for Pakistan. We in Pakistan have always lived in interesting times. In fact, the 50th year of our independence may prove to be the most interesting of all time in an eventful and colourful past. Military and constitutional coups. political intrigue, assassination, murder, and hangings of political opponents, persistent and escalating ethnic and sectarian strife, secession of the majority province, and a host of other political and constitutional issues have defined the nature of society in Pakistan. Economic chaos, mismanagement, corruption and in more recent years, complete subservience to the World Bank and the IMF have characterised economic policy in the country. For both political and economic reasons, it has been suggested by many observers that Pakistan's economy has been brought close to financial collapse on numerous occasions. In the last 10 years alone, four elected governments have been summari ly dismissed by the president of the country three separate presidents, incidentally - on grounds of corruption and for ruining the economy and bringing it to the verge of default and collapse.

The Case of Karachi S Akbar Zaidi Poverty alleviation is the trendy and fashionable slogan for the end of the 1990s. Projects will be defined with a specific focus on the poor, often with the help of donor money channelled through non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This attempt, while well meaning, will invariably be at a micro level with a narrow focus, often ignoring the causes for the existence of poverty in the first place, Band-Aid social work of this variety will certainly improve the living conditions of a number of beneficiaries in the project area. However, poverty is primarily a political issue, caused and maintained by factors of a macro nature and by institutions which function in a specific, political, environment. This paper argues that politics comes prior to poverty, as do institutions. The failure of institutions to address issues of poverty and development are seen here as essentially political failures. Looking back over the last decade, it would be difficult to find a more politicised, violent, ethnically divided, alienated city than Karachi. The paper concludes with the assertion that far-reaching and substantial political and institutional reform, must come first in any attempt to alleviate poverty, particularly in Karachi.