The paper assesses trends in poverty and improvements in the material conditions of life of millions of people living in poverty and human deprivation. It discusses the growth and poverty dimensions and associated structural problems. Determinants of poverty in Pakistan are discussed with a view to identify areas of intervention and public policies. Poverty reduction and human development programmes are discussed to show that pumping financial resources to address the issue of poverty is not a correct strategy for poverty reduction and human resource development. The paper discusses the poverty reduction strategy to assess government commitment to poverty reduction and human resource development in a sustainable manner. It concludes that poverty reduction and human development in Pakistan is dependent on many factors particularly the strengthening of institutional capacity and availability of human and financial resources.