THIS is with reference to the letter ‘The missing link in population control’ (July 21). The federal government has once again claimed that population control is its highest priority. However, the reality is stark. Government statements and ground realities are moving in opposite directions. Pakistan records approximately 6.7 million births every year, while the country’s economy is growing annually at only 3.7 per cent. As a result, unemploy-ment continues to rise, job opportunities are shrinking, inflation has become un-bearable, and millions of young Pakistanis face an uncertain future.
More than 40pc of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line. Even more alarming is the fact that 54pc of children suffer from malnutrition, while 39pc experience chronic stunting, permanently affecting their physical and cognitive development. The education sector paints an equally disturbing picture. More than 55pc children drop out before completing school. Instead of becoming productive members of society, many are pushed towards child labour, unemployment, poverty, crime and even extremism.
A federal minister’s recent admission that 82pc of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award formula is based on population, exposes a fundamental flaw in Pakistan’s fiscal framework. If provinces receive larger financial allocations simply because they have larger populations, the system unintentionally rewards population growth rather than encouraging population management. The proposal to reduce the population weightage in the NFC formula deserves serious consideration.
The government has also acknowledged that the limited availability of contra-ceptives has contributed to Pakistan’s birth rate, leading to tax exemptions on family planning products. While this is a welcome step, it is far from enough. Population control requires sustained investment in public healthcare, universal access to reproductive health services, women’s education, public awareness campaigns, and comprehensive family planning policies. Instead of accepting institutional responsibility, the federal government now points to the 18th Amendment, arguing that population welfare has become a provincial subject. Constitutionally, this may be correct. Politically, however, it is an inadequate excuse. National policy coordination, resource allocation, long-term planning and inter-provincial coordination remain the responsibility of the federation.
Significantly, representatives of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) have clarified that there is no religious dis-agreement regarding measures aimed at controlling rapid population growth. This effectively removes one of the traditional justifications often used to avoid meaningful action.
Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Heatwaves, devastating floods, prolonged droughts, water scarcity and declining agricultural productivity are already placing enormous pressure on national resources. A rapidly expanding population only intensifies these challenges, making food security, clean water, healthcare, housing and employment increasingly difficult to sustain.
The truth is that Pakistan’s greatest crisis is not population growth alone — it is the persistent failure of governance. Women empowerment has remained inadequate, healthcare systems continue to struggle, educational opportunities remain unequal, and long-term demographic planning has repeatedly been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. Pakistan’s population crisis has become an economic, environmental, developmental and national security challenge. Unless urgent reforms are implemented, the country risks falling into an irreversible cycle of poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, environ-mental degradation and social instability.
Aijaz Ali Khuwaja
Karachi
Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2026
