How Pakistan’s military generals bankrupt a nation

New Delhi, Oct 13, 2025

Pakistan’s economy stands as a textbook example of what happens when a country’s most powerful institution serves itself instead of its citizens. The World Bank’s recent findings — showing that one in four Pakistanis now lives below the poverty line — merely confirm what has long been obvious: the country’s poverty is not accidental.

It is the predictable result of a state captured by its own army. Once, there was cautious optimism. From 2001 to 2018, Pakistan’s poverty rate declined from more than 64 per cent to under 22 per cent, helped by remittances and foreign aid. That fragile progress has collapsed. In just three years, poverty has surged again to 25 per cent, undoing nearly two decades of gains.

While inflation, natural disasters, and weak reforms play th