ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s rural support programmes were among the oldest in the region and were widely acknowledged for their success.

This was stated by National Rural Support Programme ChairmanShoaib Sultan Khan at a forum organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on Tuesday.

The ISSI hosted its latest ‘Thought Leaders Forum’ under the title, ‘Poverty Alleviation and the Role of Rural Support Programme’ in which Shoaib Sultan Khan was the guest speaker.

Shoaib Sultan Khan had been instrumental in uplifting rural communities, particularly through his leadership in the Rural Support Programme. Since 1982, he had played a transformative role in various impactful programmes across Pakistan, India and South Asia, positively impacting millions of lives.

Shedding light on poverty alleviation and the role of rural support programmes, Mr Khan emphasised that Pakistan’s programmes had served as a model and inspiration for similar initiatives in South Asia, including India, adding that regrettably, programmes inspired by Pakistan’s rural support model had shown greater success over time.

He said the pursuit of poverty eradication should be a shared political agenda, serving as a unifying force rather than a source of division within regions. It was a common goal that had the potential to foster collaboration and solidarity across diverse geographical areas, emphasising the collective responsibility to address and eliminate socio-economic disparities, he added.

Shoaib Sultan Khan further elucidated multiple factors that contributed to the success of such programmes including long-term political commitment, poverty eradication as a common political agenda, political support and ownership, sustained governmental support, institutional development, innovation and adaptation and participation of women.

He brought attention to four essential elements of the success of a rural support programme such as the willingness of the households to organise and enable their potential and secondly a competent community leader with social mobilisation vision.

Professional dedicated and committed support organisation and lastly, availability and commitment of resources were the other two elements. He further said the continued success of rural support programmes hinged on the active engagement of households, encouraging them to embrace a collaborative mindset for sustainable development.

In her welcome remarks, Dr Neelum Nigar, who is director of the Centre for Strategic Perspectives (CSP), said under the TLF, ISSI acknowledged and paid tribute to individuals esteemed as authoritative voices in specific fields. These individuals had played a crucial role in shaping perspectives, influencing decisions and driving innovation within their respective domains in Pakistan.

She said Shoaib Sultan Khan stood as testament to this spirit of thought leadership.

DG ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, in his welcome remarks, appreciated Shoaib Sultan Khan’s vision, transformational leadership, and contributions to efforts for poverty reduction in Pakistan and the region, including in India, through community participation.

Ambassador Sohail Mahmood said that Pakistan had made significant strides in reducing absolute poverty, with rates dropping from 61.6pc in 1998-99 to 21.5pc in 2021-22. However, multidimensional poverty remained high at 39pc, highlighting deprivation in health, education and standard of living. Recent events, including the Covid-19 pandemic and floods, had exacerbated these challenges, particularly affecting rural communities where necessities were scarce.

The forum was attended by a large number of serving and former civil servants, academics, think tank experts, development practitioners, students and members of civil society and media.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2024