The main goal of this paper is to describe the sectoral structure of poverty in Pakistan by using 'HIES' data for the years 1987-88 and 1990-91. A range of poverty measures and decomposition techniques are employed to estimate the incidence, intensity and severity of poverty. The analyses suggest that the highest per capita income and expenditure were registered among the households whose heads were employed in Finance sector while the Construction sector was found on the opposite end in both the reference periods. Sectoral distribution of population showed that Agriculture sector had the largest population share followed by Trade and Community sectors. Mining and quarrying sector had the lowest share in population. The empirical evidence also indicates that poverty increased in all dimensions in almost all sectors during the period under consideration. There were also wide variations in the incidence of poverty among different sectors. Construction, Agriculture and Manufacturing were found to be badly affected sectors. The concentration index also indicated that the proportion of the poor relative to the proportion of the population was greater in these sectors. This study identifies and quantifies the contribution of these different sectors, where the poor are concentrated. It also contributes to enhance the understanding of the nature and extent of poverty in Pakistan. This study will be helpful for effective and well-targeted designing of strategies for poverty alleviation.