EVERY day as I travel from my home to university, I see numerous people living in slum settings, with nothing above their heads other than bamboo sticks and torn sheets of cloths to provide shelter.

In Pakistan, 73pc people in Fata, 71pc in Balochistan, 49pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 43pc in Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh, 31pc in Punjab, and 25pc in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, are affected by poverty. That means about 39pc of the total population lives below the poverty line. These statistics give us an idea about misery, that is poverty. However, no statistics or data can reveal the actual tragedy that haunts people who are its victim.

The government should work honestly to eradicate poverty. Also, my fellow citizens should play their part by giving more donations, privately and through organisations, to such families as have fallen prey to hunger and poverty. Being privileged enough to afford a comfortable life and all its luxuries, they should give as much as they can.

Aliza Aftab Khan

Karachi

Published in Dawn October 25th, 2016