HYDERABAD, April 26: Dr. Rafiq Chandio who has done PhD on "Economic Growth, Financial Liberalisation and Poverty in Pakistan (1970-2000)” has said that poverty has been on a steady rise in the country since 1990 mainly due to unjust distribution of resources.

Mr Chandio said in the presentation on his PhD thesis at Sindh University Jamshoro campus on Wednesday that fair privatisation would help reduce poverty in the long run but great care should be taken in the process.

He said that he had reached the conclusion in his research work that 30 years of growth did help reduce poverty but new pockets of poverty also emerged due to lack of a political framework in the country.

He advised more financial liberalisation to speed up economic growth and cited as evidence large-scale investment in 1970 in public sector, which generated employment and led to a remarkable drop in poverty.

Education with a strong base would greatly help bring down poverty, he said and added that according to 1998-99 data, one billion people were living below poverty line in South Asia.

In South Asia Pakistan was one of the poorest countries and all the studies indicated that level of poverty had increased in 1990s. Data compiled by IMF, World Bank, State Bank and other institutes was easily available today but there was still very little data on Sindh, he said.

Mr Chandio urged the Sindh University to set up a data bank on Sindh to enable future research scholars to conduct research on all the dimensions of poverty.

Sindh University Vice-Chancellor Dr Mazharul Haq Siddiqui urged in his presidential remarks more investment in education. Quality of life could be improved through education, he said.

WORKSHOP: Speakers at three-day first national workshop on "Food Processing: Challenges and Opportunities in Pakistan", which concluded at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology on Wednesday urged coordination between scientists and engineers for improving the quantity and quality of food.