Here is the chart depicting growth in poppy production before and after US and NATO forces occupied the country.

However these issues have been discussed so much thoroughly in the press and media that they do not warrant further comment, unless there is any new revelation related to that subject.

Pervez Musharraf and his imported private banker, Shaukat Aziz, tauted the success of their reform process by claiming that the ordinary lot has improved as a result of their policies and the man on street is a better lot. That seems to be a the case at a first glance. However a more thorough examination of the fact tell a different story. According to the household Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2005-2006 conducted by Federal Bureau of Statistics the average monthly disposable income of a household in Pakistan reached around Pakistani Rupees 12285 in 2005-2006. This compares to Rupees 7168 earned by an average household in Pakistan in 2001-2002, translating into 72 percent growth in income. There has been an equally significant growth in monthly income of a urban household in Pakistan, which grew from Rupees 9849 in 2001-2002 to Rupees 14910 in 2005-2006 or about 51 percent growth over the period of four years.

But hang on! How about the inflation? If we were readjust those figures against the inflation. The figure for growth income at the national level goes down by half. Hence in reality it was 35 percent growth instead of 72 percent growth. Similarly an average family living in a city or town in Pakistan experienced around 19.1 percent growth instead of 51.4 percent growth in come.

Okay. Let us just assume for a minute that Shaukat Aziz and company did miracles and increased the average income of the family. But that is only one side of the story. The other side is really ugly and that shows the real face of consumption driven lust for artificial prosperity. According to the 2001 survey an average Pakistani household was using up around 69 percent of its income for monthly consumption which typically constitutes a household budget and after using funds for other needs it was left with a cash balance of 14.9 percent. That was its net cash savings. This situation got transformed drastically according to 2005-2006 survey. Around 87.7 percent of the disposable income got eaten up by the monthly spending on consumption. And after using funds for other purposes an average family was left with 4.43 percent of its income as net cash saving. In real terms after accounting for inflation and taking into account bank deposits there was decline in net household savings of 23 percent. Hence an average family in Pakistan is now saving around 23 percent less than it used to be back in 2001.

The situation gets much worse if the plight on an average family living in the city is taken into account. The average monthly consumption by an average urban household in Pakistan grew from 85.4 percent in 2001 to 98.9 percent in 2005. Wow! that is what I call a big achievement. It literally means that what ever an average family in a city is earning it is ending up using almost all of it on daily expenses leaving nothing for the future. The situation gets more ugly when other expenses are taken into account a household is left with a cash deficit of 9.5 percent! So now we know where those personal loans are going and credit cards are being utilized. The city dwellers are mortgage their future and the future of their kids by overspending on goods and expenses they do not need. So yes, you are right Mr. Shortcut Aziz the people in Pakistan have become more productive by making their mobile phone, credit cards and cars to lay eggs. Or at least their debts are growing. So when everything is going down including household income, country’s export, value of local currency, value of deposits in the bank account, we can take solace from the fact that our consumer debt burden is growing.