Poverty, Inc

This refers to the news report ‘If population grows at current pace, Pakistan may face issues of hunger, poverty: PM’ (September 24). It is rather shocking that the prime minister should talk about hunger and poverty in Pakistan as future problems, and even that contingent upon population growth continuing at the current rate. He seems to be unaware of the fact that the people of Pakistan already have been suffering from these problems for decades now. Nearly 40 percent of children suffer stunted growth – both physical and mental - due to intake of food that is deficient in quantity, quality or both, of which the main cause is poverty.

S R H Hashmi

Karachi