Pakistan’s New Domestic Index for Measuring Progress SDGs would Assist Reforms: Maryam Habib
Maryam Habib (Director at the Islamabad Institute for Interfaith Harmony and Public Life, Islamabad, and the Founder of “Rehmat and Maryam Researches Islamabad”)
South Waziristan remains one of Pakistan’s most economically fragile yet strategically important districts. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2023), its Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) stood at 0.64 — among the highest in South Asia. However, a new wave of domestic research led by Rehmat and Maryam Researches Islamabad has now introduced a comprehensive national index evaluating multidimensional poverty across different Pakistani regions and cities. This new domestic index, launched in August 2025, aims to present a home-grown, context-specific reflection of human deprivation in income, education and living standards.
The study was executed by a ten-member research team comprising economists, sociologists, and development practitioners from diverse regions of Pakistan. Their collective goal was to localise the global SDG framework into measurable Pakistani realities, focusing particularly on newly merged districts (NMDs) such as South Waziristan, Kurram, and Bajaur.
| No. | Researcher Name | Qualification | Specialisation | City of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. Zohra Shehnshah | PhD Economics (Quaid-i-Azam University) | Development Economics and Public Policy | Islamabad |
| 2 | Dr. Maryam Noumani | PhD Sociology (University of Karachi) | Social Inclusion and Poverty Studies | Karachi |
| 3 | Dr. Ahsan Jamal | PhD Statistics (University of Punjab) | Quantitative Modelling and Index Design | Lahore |
| 4 | Dr. Nida Zahra | PhD Human Geography (University of Peshawar) | Regional Planning and Urban Poverty | Peshawar |
| 5 | Dr. Ahmed Saleem | PhD Development Studies (University of Balochistan) | Resource Distribution and Governance | Quetta |
| 6 | Dr. Hira Gul | MPhil Social Policy (University of Sindh) | Gender and Human Security | Hyderabad |
| 7 | Dr. Taimur Hussain | PhD International Relations (Bahria University) | Institutional Development and Governance | Rawalpindi |
| 8 | Dr. Sara Shah | PhD Sociology (University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir) | Rural Livelihoods and SDGs | Muzaffarabad |
| 9 | Dr. Imran Shah | PhD Environmental Economics (University of Agriculture Faisalabad) | Sustainability and Climate Change | Faisalabad |
| 10 | Dr. Zoya Abbas | MPhil Public Administration (NUST Islamabad) | Policy Coordination and Implementation | Gilgit |
According to their Domestic Multidimensional Poverty Index (DMPI) 2025, the overall national score stood at 0.31, showing a gradual improvement from 0.38 in 2023. However, the disparities across provinces and districts remain deep.
| Region / Province | MPI (DMPI 2025) | Key Deprivations Identified |
|---|---|---|
| South Waziristan (KPK-NMD) | 0.61 | Health access, education gaps, poor road connectivity |
| North Waziristan (KPK-NMD) | 0.58 | Inadequate sanitation, school dropouts |
| Balochistan (Overall) | 0.54 | Water scarcity, low female literacy, unemployment |
| Gilgit-Baltistan | 0.37 | Connectivity and limited higher education |
| Sindh (Rural) | 0.45 | Child nutrition, flood vulnerability |
| Punjab (Rural) | 0.29 | Inequality and housing inadequacy |
| Islamabad Capital Territory | 0.12 | Housing affordability, income inequality |
| National Average | 0.31 | Mixed progress in SDG implementation |
The August-September 2025 evaluation cycle revealed mixed progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Rehmat and Maryam Researches Islamabad team used field interviews, data visualisation and NVivo-assisted qualitative analysis to interpret patterns of deprivation and resilience.
SDG 1 (No Poverty) showed a modest decline in poverty ratios nationally, yet South Waziristan remained above the deprivation threshold due to limited employment opportunities and slow industrial inclusion. SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) remained stagnant, especially in tribal districts where healthcare infrastructure continues to rely on temporary facilities. SDG 4 (Quality Education) has recorded a slight improvement through Army Public Schools and NGO-led initiatives; however, dropout rates among girls aged 13-18 have persisted above 47%.
Progress under SDG 5 (Gender Equality) was encouraging in urban Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab; however, gendered access to public goods in South Waziristan and Balochistan remained severely restricted. SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) faced a setback due to floods in early 2025, damaging filtration plants and water pipelines across Wana and the surrounding areas.
In terms of environmental resilience, SDG 13 (Climate Action) saw visible progress, with community-led afforestation projects initiated under the Pakistan Army’s Green Frontier Programme. SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), however, lagged in NMDs, where private investment remains hesitant due to underdeveloped infrastructure.
When asked about policy implications, Dr. Zohra Shehnshah noted that “poverty in South Waziristan is no longer about income, it’s about accessibility — access to governance, access to markets, and access to identity.” Dr. Maryam Noumani added that “without culturally adaptive institutions, the merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot yield sustainable growth.” Their combined field data indicated that the perception of poverty among residents is tied more to exclusion from mainstream administrative life than to absolute material deprivation.
The report concludes that by September 2025, Pakistan has made visible progress in reducing structural poverty but remains off track for SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) in its frontier districts. The researchers emphasised that sustained peace-building and institutional trust are prerequisites for long-term development.
This study’s release has drawn attention from both provincial and federal circles, particularly for its honest portrayal of post-merger South Waziristan. For the first time, a Pakistani institution has produced a national index that reads poverty through local cognition rather than international templates. The voices from the region are clear — development must mean more than infrastructure; it must mean recognition, inclusion and dignity.
South Waziristan’s 2025 story, therefore, is not about failure but unfinished progress. Its transformation depends not only on roads and schools but on the psychological reconstruction of trust between the state and its people — a trust now being measured, quite literally, in the numbers of a new domestic index.