Pakistan's defense and Poverty

On June 26, a mother along with her three children aged one, three and seven committed suicide by throwing herself and her children before an approaching train in Rahim Yar Khan. The main cause cited for the incident was poverty. The children, in all probability, were malnourished, living in a one-room house, drinking contaminated water with little or no prospects of going to school. Their father was reportedly jobless. On the same day, three F-16 C/D Block 52 aircrafts landed at PAF Shahbaz Air Base at Jacobabad. They are equipped with advanced avionics suite and latest weapons with night vision attack capability. Their estimated unit cost is approximately US $34 million. Do sophisticated military machines ensure a country's defence when a degraded environment persists in terms of economic, social and internal security? Around Rs700 billion (one-third of the budget) would be used by the military establishment during 2010-2011. At the same time countless children would die of hunger and poverty. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, HRCP, 141 people committed suicide in the month up to Feb. 25. The commission recorded 138 suicides in January. “There is no government data on suicides as most are not reported. Many of the suicide victims are on daily wages. “Bills and prices of basic commodities will increase by at least 15 percent when VAT comes into effect … Every day price hikes have become the norm and the number of suicides is increasing among unemployed youths and the poor.