The Pakistani Spectator

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An Interview with Cart Owner

By The Pakistani Spectator • Aug 18th, 2007 • Category: Uncategorized • 2 Comments •

His name is Saif Ullah. Mr. Saif Ullah sells fruits or vegetables on a cart near a bus stop. He has four children, two of them are school going in small classes. His reply to some questions as below:

‘I live in a rented accommodation consisting only one room and a very small shed. The rent is Rs 1000 (USD 16.67) per month.’

‘My earning is not on daily basis, I purchase veggies or fruits and when I sell it the margin left is my profit and if I take the average it is around Rs 100 (USD 1.66) per day’.

‘I don’t know how my month passes, it the Almighty who supports me to live life’.

‘My family goes to utility stores for purchase of kitchen items and leave luggage their, I go pay the amount and collect it, most of other fellows don’t purchase from utility stores.’

‘We cook only once in 48 hrs and my family like vegetables because pulses and meat are much expensive. We eat meat once a month or after two months.’

‘My two children go to school where there is no fee and government give books to the children’.

‘We wash clothes in washing machine twice or thrice a month, and iron clothes very rarely’

‘I have to pay around Rs 400 (USD 6.67) in mode of electric bill, as we only lit on bulb or tube light and one fan’.

‘I have nothing to do with what government do or say, I am much interested in my earning’.

‘We don’t travel a lot as this is much expensive, so we do that quarterly or six monthly as every human being has happy & sorrow moments.’

Above are the answers to some questions of a common man in Pakistan, Whereas, we see thousands of luxury cars and bungalows in cities as we have the status of a progressed country. The proportion of such population is not less than 80% of the total population who live below poverty line apart from our mega claims about economic growth.

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2 Responses »

  1. Tell this to His Excellency Shaukat Aziz and you’ll come to know how the economy has boosted since Musharraf took over. He’ll tell you that poverty in Pakistan is an old story and he’ll give you the example of everyone keeping a cell phone with him.
    And maybe the cart owner would be declared a terrorist, if Musharraf reads this post by chance. There are things more important for the government to think of.

  2. Talal said it all and well.

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