In the first week of this month, social media accounts shared the valuation of Pakistan’s begging industry reported by Indian media outlets in July, quoting an alleged Dawn report, at $42 billion annually. However, the statistics cited by Indian media outlets were from a letter to the editor, not a Dawn news report.

In July, the government decided to block the passports of over 2,000 Pakistani beggars who hurt the country’s image by begging in foreign countries. Officials stated that many of these beggars travelled to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq, pretending to perform pilgrimages or visit religious shrines.

On September 5, the iVerify team was alerted by the public to check a claim reported by Indian media outlets regarding Pakistan’s beggar industry.

In July, Indian news platforms The Economic Times, The Times of India and The Print reported that as per a report from Dawn, there were reportedly 38 million beggars in Pakistan with the national average daily earning per beggar being Rs850, leading to an annual extraction of $42bn, more than 12 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP.

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The figures reported by the Indian outlets were also shared by Pakistani accounts on social media platform X.

Asad Nasir, an entrepreneur, and a stock trader as per his X bio, wrote in a post on X on September 1, “Beggars in Pakistan extract an astonishing Rs32bn from people daily in the form of charity. This daily amount translates to a staggering Rs117 trillion (approximately $42bn) annually.”

The post gained over 29,000 views.

Anchor and talk show host Syed Muzammil Shah also quoted the same figures in a 19-minute long YouTube video on August 30 titled: ‘$42 billion begging industry exposed’.

Citing his analysis, former Pakistani cricketer and coach Rashid Latif reshared the same figures in an X post on August 31, which was seen by 30,000 people.

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and to satisfy the public’s query for verification of the alleged figures quoted.

Referring to the July 11 article published by The Times of India showed that it did not mention any source for the $42bn figure.

Meanwhile, the July 9 and July 11 articles from The Economic Times and The Print cited a Dawn newspaper report, the latter linking to the alleged report as well. However, inspecting the report dated April 26, 2024, showed that it was a letter to the editor titled: “A burden on economy”.

According to the letter, the author Abid Hafeez from Lahore wrote: “In a country with over 230m people, there are reportedly 38m beggars, with the average daily amount a beggar collects having been estimated to be Rs2,000 in Karachi, Rs1,400 in Lahore and Rs950 in Islamabad. The national average amount per beggar is Rs850.”

It further said, “According to the report that is making waves on social media, these beggars extract Rs32bn from people’s pockets every day in the form of charity. This amount, if authentic, translates into Rs117 trillion annually. In dollar terms, the amount is the equivalent of $42bn.”

It’s important to mention that a letter to the editor refers to a letter written by a reader to a publication to voice concerns about a specific issue and a publication cannot vouch for any factual claims or figures provided in it.

Examining the letter’s content itself showed that it conditioned the data it used with “reportedly”, signifying that the veracity of the figure was itself not confirmed.

Next, it attributed the data to a “report that is making waves on social media” but provided no other details about the report, such as its title or publication date.

It again conditioned its use of the alleged figures by saying: “This amount, if authentic”, showing that it was itself not making any claims about the reliability or authenticity of the alleged report and was not sure about it.

Economist Uzair Younus also called the $42bn figure “absurd” and “unbelievable”, saying that there was “no reliable methodology for reaching this figure” in an X post on September 5.

The claim by Indian media outlets regarding a Dawn report valuing Pakistan’s begging industry at $42bn and its subsequent proliferation by Pakistani users is misleading.

The Dawn report cited is actually a letter to the editor rather than the newspaper’s own research article or news report. The letter itself conditions the figures it is using and makes no claims for their authenticity, apart from providing no details of its source.

Framing the letter to the editor as a news article in the newspaper has the potential to misguide the public by giving the impression that Dawn took ownership and vouched for the data by printing it as a report instead of merely reproducing it as a letter to the editor which is a standard practice in newspapers.

Indian media outlets and Pakistani accounts should have exhibited more due care and diligence in their investigation of the source they were citing for the $42bn figure and transparent in reporting it as a letter to the editor instead of a report published by Dawn.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ and UNDP.