Population boom causes human crisis, says Maleeha Lodhi

ISLAMABAD:

Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former permanent representative to the United Nations, warned that uncontrolled population growth and the government’s lack of attention to the problems arising from it were fueling and exacerbating Pakistan’s human development crisis.

“I believe that Pakistan is in the grip of this crisis with far-reaching consequences for its economic development and the well-being of its people,” she said in her keynote address on the first day of the “Pakistan Population Summit” organized by DawnMedia on Monday.

The summit brought together federal ministers, policymakers, experts and development partners to address Pakistan’s rapidly intensifying demographic challenges.

“The human development crisis is reflected in the fact that almost all indicators of literacy, education, health, poverty, gender disparity and other aspects of human well-being have deteriorated in recent years,” Dr Lodhi said:

Citing the latest UNDP Human Development Report 2025, she said the report places Pakistan in the ‘low’ human development category, with a rank of 168 out of 193 countries in the Human Development Index.

“This is a 35-year low. In its 2023 Pakistan Human Capital Review report, the World Bank says Pakistan is facing a ‘silent and profound human capital crisis’ that will negatively affect its future economic trajectory.”

“Official documents put the literacy rate at 60%, which means 40% of our population is illiterate. No country has made economic progress with such a level of illiteracy,” Dr Lodhi said.

Meanwhile, speaking at a roundtable discussion with PML-N MP Shaista Pervaiz and former KP minister Taimur Jhagra, PML-N senator Mushahid Hussain rejected the “myth” that Pakistan, as a Muslim country, was struggling to curb population growth.

He cited as examples Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh, which have seen “population success stories.”