Islamabad: A senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has claimed that the recently launched World Happiness Report that puts Pakistan among the top 20 gainers in the happy countries of the world improving its ranking from 75th to 67th is a testimony of that Pakistan Muslim League’s efforts to bring comfort and joy to people’s lives.
“Our tenure from 2013 to 2018 was comparatively better than other parties and people felt happier in the days of the PML-N government than the PPP or the PTI,” said Ahsan Iqbal a former federal minister and Deputy Secretary General of the party.
While addressing the commencement ceremony of the Young Politicians’ Fellowship Programme organised for the young members of various political parties here at a local hotel, Ahsan Iqbal said while preparing the report The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network put before it six indicators — income per capita, life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity and corruption — and Pakistan registered improvement in all of them.
The data he said was collected in 2017 and 2018 when the PML-N was in power and the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was successfully launching energy and infrastructure projects all over the country.
He termed the year 2018 the best in terms of Pakistani people’s per capita income.
Our per capita income in 2018 was $1600 (Dh5,872) as compared to $600 in 1999, he said. However, he lamented now it has gone down on the Human Development Index (HDI).
According to the report, Pakistan joined by the Philippines and countries from Europe, Africa and Latin America is among the top 20 gainers on the index.
Among the 20 largest losers are countries from the Middle East, Africa, Western Europe, India, Malaysia, Venezuela and Ukraine.
The report reveals that in happiness, Pakistan ranks highest among all of its neighbours again this year.
India is ranked at 140 — seven spots lower than last year, while China is at 93, Iran at 117, Iraq at 126 and Afghanistan at 154 — just two spots above the last place. Bangladesh is ranked 125.
However, Ahsan Iqbal cautioned if the PTI government did not clear the financial mess and took the steps for wealth creation people’s happiness would not last long.
Already, we are under huge financial distress and the prime minister is yet to set a direction for the country’s economy, he said.
According to Human Development Index (HDI) report, currently the per capita income (PCI) of Pakistanis has fallen to $1,570 and the country ranks at 150. Various factors can be attributed for this financial downfall some of them are like poor governance, lack of initiatives and absence of ease in doing business etc.
