ISLAMABAD:
One of the major issues facing Pakistan today is overpopulation; however, it remains largely absent from the public discourse. According to the United Nations, Pakistan’s population will rise to four hundred million by 2050. The country is already witnessing the consequences of the huge population in the form of high disease rates, high poverty, depletion of resources, increased rural-to-urban migration, etc. As the population continues to increase, these problems will only worsen and give rise to other issues as well.
Due to conservative values and norms, most people avoid using any form of contraceptive methods. People seldom seek doctors’ advice over the use of birth control, which often results in high-risk or dangerous pregnancies. Every now and then, some government official makes arbitrary claims of controlling the population or reducing population growth, but no one takes serious action. In the past, the religious factions have hampered family planning campaigns deeming them to be irreligious. The Supreme Court of Pakistan even proposed a two-child limit on families, but the idea was met with strong opposition from the conservative majority.
If the populace continues to rise, urban areas will become extremely crowded resulting in illegal settlements. Pakistan is already running out of water and other crucial resources including food. We need to realise that the burgeoning population will become a serious challenge for the government and threaten the country’s survival in the coming years. All relevant authorities must chalk out a plan to control population so that we can leave a better country for our future generations.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2022.
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