Institutional Imperatives of Poverty Reduction (Governance AND INSTITUTIONS‪)‬

Ms. Bushra, a poor 30 year old woman, threw herself in front of a moving train in Lahore together with her two children, Saima, age 3 and Zubair, age 5. The mother is reported to have covered the eyes of her children before all three were crushed under the train. She left a suicide note written in the copy book of Zubair in the school satchel found near the site of the tragedy. In the suicide note Ms. Bushra stated poverty as the cause of her decision to commit suicide along with her children. [News Report in the daily Dawn, 13th April 2008]. He who is without empathy for the suffering of others, has no right to be called human. [Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, 1207-73]