Covid-19: Evolving Normative Institutional Framework for Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan for Emergency Response

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine what kind of social policies and poverty alleviation strategies have
been envisaged by Pakistan to deal with the emergency situation of lockdown during Covid-19 and its
implications on the poor class, which makes 38 percent of Pakistan’s population. The Government of
Pakistan(GoP) is fully cognizant that the lockdown will affect at least over 100 million people in
Pakistan, keeping in view of its daily wage-earning economic compulsion; there was all the rationale
available for the policy intervention by the GoP for evolving a normative institutional framework. If
there had not been any policy intervention, people would have died of hunger which could have been
catastrophic for Pakistan. Therefore, this paper rationalizes the necessity for the GoP to formulate a
framework for normative institution to achieve the objective of disbursement of emergency cash and
how it will enable it to contribute in overarching mission.