Pakistan on the Brink: Economic Turmoil Fuels Humanitarian Crisis

Pakistan faces severe social and economic challenges as unemployment, inflation, and poverty rise, warns JDC Foundation's Syed Zafar Abbas. With high education costs and low salaries, citizens struggle to meet basic needs. Abbas calls for immediate government intervention to prevent further collapse and social unrest.

Pakistan is inching towards an unprecedented socio-economic collapse, according to Syed Zafar Abbas of the JDC Foundation. He spoke on the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding as unemployment, inflation, and poverty spiral beyond control.

Elaborating on the plight facing young graduates, Abbas indicated that despite paying steep tuition fees—up to PKR 200,000 per semester—the potential for joblessness or low pay remains high. The available salaries, often between PKR 20,000 and PKR 25,000, fall short of living expenses. "We offer them no future," he critically remarked, highlighting a growing desperation driving people towards self-harm and crime.

He added that the middle class is suffocating under exorbitant living costs, citing electricity bills that dwarf their income. Citizens are forced to sell cherished belongings to pay for essentials, he observed, warning of possible civil unrest driven by hunger, not greed.

Abbas urged immediate governmental relief measures, including low-interest loans and employment reforms, to prevent an economic and humanitarian disaster. "The country's economic fabric is tearing apart," he cautioned. "Action is imperative to halt an impending uprising born of sheer survival instincts."

(With inputs from agencies.)