While addressing a ceremony in Haripur, Prime Minister Imran Khan has admitted that providing jobs to a fast-growing population under the age of 25 is a big challenge for the incumbent government. There is no doubt that one of the main reasons for our present socioeconomic woes is the unbridled growth in our population.
Inflation and unemployment are the major challenges for the government in Pakistan at the moment. According to a report published in British magazine The Economist, Pakistan ranks third in terms of the high rate of inflation in the world. The rate of inflation in Pakistan clocked in at 11.5%.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Statistics reported that Pakistan’s consumer price index rose 12.3% in December from a year earlier. Edible items were the main contributor to the latest increase. Price stability has been the biggest challenge facing the Imran Khan administration as well as the central bank.
Regrettably, the government’s repeated pronouncements regarding the rising prices do not reflect any seriousness, with minister telling the public that it is just a temporary phase. The official line on the soaring prices in the country has been inconsistent, sometimes blaming ‘hoarders’ or the ‘PML-N government’ and sometimes the current ‘global commodity boom’.
Citizens who are increasingly finding it harder to put food on the table and pay their energy, education and health bills remain unimpressed. As far as population growth is concerned, the current situation is reaching alarming levels with an annual population growth of 2.4%.
Population explosion combines with poor governance and results in neglect of the education, health, agriculture, and industrial sectors. We are adding approximately 5.3 million people in our population every year. A conservative mindset is also a great hindrance in this regard. Our rulers must realise that unchecked population growth is economically unsustainable.
The government thus needs to seriously check this unbridled population growth. At the same time, enhance industrial and agriculture production through agricultural research and use of modern science and technology techniques to defuse the negative impact of population explosion.
