Pakistan, Jan. 23 -- There was a time in Pakistan when a salary meant stability. It meant a predictable month, manageable grocery runs, and a household budget that-while tight-could still breathe. Today, a salary has become something else entirely: a survival ticket that expires before the month ends. Millions of working Pakistanis are not living paycheck to paycheck anymore-they are living bill to bill, and many months, even that is optimistic.

This is not merely a story of inflation. It is a story of the collapse of purchasing power, the quiet murder of dignity, and the slow conversion of the salaried class into the "new poor." A country that used to respect the employed is now punishing them for being formal, traceable, and taxable. A...