In Washington, the International Monetary Fund praises fiscal discipline, applauds a primary surplus, and highlights the country’s first current account surplus in 14 years. In Islamabad, policymakers speak of stabilisation, confidence, and reform momentum. The narrative is tidy: Pakistan stepped back from the brink and is now on firmer ground.

But outside official briefings and donor statements, the reality is harsher. Poverty has climbed to 29 per cent, an 11-year high. Income inequality is at levels not seen in nearly three decades. Real household incomes have shrunk. Unemployment is at a 21-year peak. For millions of families, “stability” feels indistinguishable from suffocation.

This is not a contradiction. It is the central paradox of Pakistan’s economic moment.

The country has stabilised, but it has not healed.

There is no denying that macroeconomic repair was necessary. Pakistan was careening towards default not long ago. Foreign reserves were evaporating, the rupee was in free fall, and inflation was scorching households. The IMF programme imposed discipline where domestic politics had repeatedly failed. Subsidies were cut. Energy prices were raised. The currency was allowed to adjust. Monetary policy tightened.

But stabilisation is not the same as recovery. It is emergency care, not rehabilitation.

When subsidies vanish, and indirect taxes rise, the burden does not fall evenly. It lands hardest on those already stretched thin — lower-middle-income earners, daily wage workers, small traders. Inflation may be “contained” now, but the damage of the surge remains embedded in daily life. Food, electricity, fuel — essentials became luxuries. And wages did not keep pace.

The........

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