Ten million more people in Pakistan set to fall below poverty line

At least 10 million more Pakistanis will drop below the poverty line because of the toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government's new economic survey estimates.

Around one in four Pakistanis are currently too poor to meet basic needs, but that figure is predicted to rise closer to 30 per cent of the world's sixth most populous nation.

The Covid-19 outbreak “is expected to have a negative impact on Pakistan's economy, and the number of people living below the poverty line may rise from the existing figure of 50 to 60 million,” the survey says.

The government's annual Economic Survey for 2019 to 2020 also warned that the economy would contract for the first time in 68 years.

Pakistan was already suffering an economic crisis before the pandemic and the country has been battered by an economic lockdown. A collapse in remittances from abroad is expected to add to the financial pain.

The country reported 107 more Covid-19 deaths over the previous 24-hours and and 6,397 new cases, the highest single-day increase.

It brought Pakistan's tally to 2,463 deaths among 125,933 confirmed cases.

Imran Khan, prime minister, has warned that the eventual peak of cases may still be six weeks off, but he has urged the easing of lockdowns to spare poorer workers from starvation.

The economic survey estimated the number of jobs lost to coronavirus will vary from 1.4m in the case of few lockdown restrictions to 18.5 million if the country's businesses are widely shuttered.

The country has tried to lessen the effect of the pandemic on the most vulnerable by increasing its cash handout programme to the poor.

Cases have started to spike after precautions were eased at the end of the Ramadan fasting month toward the end of May.

Earlier this week the World Health Organisation called on the country to adopt an intermittent, two-week-on and two-week-off cycle of restrictions to try to rein in the virus.

Pakistanis have proven stubbornly resistant to obeying distancing precautions. Markets, streets and parks have been thronged by crowds, many of them not wearing masks.

Mr Khan on Thursday again pleaded with the nation to take more care.

"By doing this, the country can be saved from the danger of cases increasing exponentially [...] we will be able to cope,” he said.

"I say this with a heavy heart that the public is showing a lot of carelessness [...] this way of thinking is dangerous."

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