In a foggy morning, Zakir Khan, an impoverished fruit seller, starts his rickshaw journey from his mud house in the outskirts of the provincial metropolitan to Peshawar’s fruit market hoping to purchase apples, guavas, bananas, and other fruits on reasonable rate to support his eight- member family.
Assisted by his son Asadullah Khan, the 65-year-old vendor, donned in traditional attire – woolen Chadar and Chitrali cap, starts his day with Fajr prayer and after having breakfast, rushes to Chamkani fruit market in Peshawar expecting to get fresh fruits through open auction on reasonable prices and anticipates a profitable sale in the local market.
After purchasing fruits, he unloads his fruits-packed rickshaw at his hand cart in Pabbi fruits market at Nowshera after covering 15-kilometer distance from Peshawar and working till night. “I have been associated with the painstaking fruit seller business since my childhood and recently my two sons Arifullah Khan and Asadullah Khan have started assisting me to sell all stock before night,” he said.
‘It is an extremely challenging business and sometimes he suffers financial losses in case fruits are not sold on time,’ he said, adding that due to exorbitant prices of the fruits many customers just ask about prices of different fruits and return empty handed.
“Last year, citrus of Khanpur tehsil of Haripur and Manki Sharif of Nowshera districts was available at Rs180 per dozen that has now jumped to Rs 250 per dozen in local market with start of new year while apples per kg were sold at Rs 200 per last year against Rs 250 this year making difficult to continue this hard earned business due to discouraging response of consumers and poverty,” he said.
“I have come to purchase fruits for birthday party of my granddaughter, but the prices were sky-high this morning and will come again at night hoping for reduction of prices of apple, guava and banana to celebrate the event with great pomp and show,” said Riazul Haq, a retired teacher while talking to APP at Pabbi fruit market.
Complaining about soaring prices of fruits and vegetables with the start of the new year in the local market, he said that district administration failed to regularly check fruits prices at market and take strict action against price hikers and hoarders.
“Poverty is the mother of all social ills including illiteracy, corruption, street crimes, drugs addiction and unemployment besides creating socio-economic imbalances in the society,” said Professor Dr Muhamnad Naeem, former Chairman Economics Department, University of Peshawar.
He said that thousands of youth were being graduated by the public and private sectors universities every year and could not find suitable jobs due to our outdated education system and lack of coordination between government departments, educational institutions and industries in terms of jobs creations, as result, increase in poverty ratio in recent years.
Professor Naeem while quoting a World Bank report said that the poverty ratio has raised from 34.21 per cent in 2022 to 39.41 per cent in 2023, pushing 12.5 million people below poverty line. He said that Pakistan labour market was yet to recover fully from the 2022 devastated floods, COVID-19 pandemic and shabby economic situation and tough challenges were ahead of future government to tackle these issues on war footing basis.
“The 2022 floods had marred agriculture, tourism and livestock sectors besides affecting over 33 million people in all provinces including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and an additional nine million people were at risk of being pushed into poverty in Pakistan,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Naeem underscored the need for strict financial and fiscal policies besides reducing reduction of expenditure outlay of the budget at centre and provinces levels, reforms in tax structure by shifting reliance from indirect to direct taxes, pension system and increase in assistance of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to control poverty and unemployment in the country.
Ms Javeera, spokesperson of BISP KP said that her organization was providing financial assistance to nearly 10 million deserving families through Benazir Kafalat Program. She said that children of these families were receiving education under Taleemi Wazif initiative besides pregnant and lactating mothers and infants of beneficiaries were being financially assisted to combat stunting and malnutrition.
She also outlined the induction of a new poverty graduation program focusing on self-reliance of these poor families, technical education for their children, programs for orphans, widows and the creation of an endowment fund for the poorest of the poor.
Ms Javera said that Rs 72 billion as quarterly installments of Rs 9000 per family for April-June 2023 were disbursed among eight million deserving beneficiaries till July 21, 2023.
Khushal Khattak, Program Manager, KP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (KP-TEVTA) said that an agreement was inked with five paramedical institutions for socioeconomic empowerment and skills enhancement of youth of merged tribal districts.
As per the agreement, he said that 360 students of merged tribal districts would be provided two-year professional educational training in nine different paramedical technologies enabling them to get a dignified job in the health sector.
He said Rs500,000 to Rs five million soft loans were being provided to youth under Kamyab Jawan Program besides Rs 1 billion approved for provision of micro loans through Bank of Khyber to tribal youth.
Khushal said ‘Skills for All’ program was launched for promotion of technical education and vocational training while field internship programs along with Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 per month stipends were being provided to selected youth on merit.
He said over 76 percent diploma holders of KP TEVTA have secured employment in different sectors including health.
“To alleviate poverty, the KP government has launched Khushal Pakhtunkhwa Program to generate employment opportunities for youth and make poverty alleviation program in line with the people’s expectations.
Under this landmark program, half million youth would be sent abroad for employment besides attention would be paid to information technology’s courses according to the demands of the international market,” said Feroz Jamal Kakakhel, KP Information and Tourism caretaker Minister.
Besides approval of Rs 218.7 million for de-worming initiative for school-age children of underprivileged families, he said scholarship and ETEA merit stipend programs were launched to provide better education opportunities to underprivileged children of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
