Pakistan, Oct. 29 -- Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said Pakistan's poverty reduction momentum had suffered a serious setback after 2018, with the poverty rate rising to 28.9 per cent in 2024-25 from 21.9 per cent in 2018-19, amid political instability, economic crises, policy discontinuity and climate disasters.

Addressing an event titled "Pathways to a Poverty-Free Pakistan: Advancing Multidimensional Poverty Measurement for Evidence-Based Policy and Action," the minister called for evidence-based policies, targeted public investment and sustainable poverty reduction.

Among others, the event was attended by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Dir...