In a time of extreme financial hardship, the government is exploring a plan to introduce a monthly lottery to reinforce its economy.
According to Dawn.com, the plan is one of several “out-of-the-box” ideas suggested by financial experts to assist the country to avoid bankruptcy.
It is proposed that the lottery proceeds be used to fund development initiatives such as hospitals, training institutions, and the subsidization of essential commodities.
Several industrialized countries, notably the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia, have successfully implemented similar plans.
The government is expected to form a task group after reviewing the scheme’s legal features and assessing its economic impact.
A similar strategy was implemented before the 1989 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Islamabad, according to the journal.
The lottery earned a large quantity of money, but it was eventually canceled when a number of religious academics declared it un-Islamic, even comparing it to gambling and betting.
The government intends to seek the advice of religious scholars before conducting a lottery.
The approach, according to financial experts, would address the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) concern that help to the poor should not be provided through subsidies since it weighs on the public purse.
