Prime Minister's Adviser Rana Sanaullah has dismissed concerns over Pakistan's standing on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), saying people should not fall prey to "propaganda" based on such reports. "My request is that you should not fall prey to this propaganda," Sanaullah told a reporter, pointing towards what he described as a strong tendency among Pakistanis to help people in need.

He questioned whether people could be seen sleeping on footpaths in Pakistani cities or suffering the kind of deprivation caused by hunger witnessed in other countries. "Look at India, for instance - there are certain cities where people sleep on footpaths," he said.

"Therefore, in Pakistan, as far as my observation goes, by the grace of Allah, no one sleeps hungry, and no one sleeps out on footpaths and streets," Sanaullah maintained. He said relying on such reports as a basis for what he termed propaganda was "entirely inappropriate".

According to the Global Hunger Index, Pakistan has a score of 25.5, placing the country in the category of a "serious" level of hunger. Pakistan ranks 106th among 122 countries and is among the countries where hunger is higher than it was in 2018.

The country has the second-worst level of hunger in South Asia, with only Afghanistan ranked below Pakistan in the region, according to the GHI data. The data show that 16.1% of Pakistan's population is undernourished, while 33.6% of children under the age of five are stunted and 9.8% are wasted.

However, the data underpinning the index largely does not cover recent years or the fallout from global conflicts.