Instead of raising his hands now at the high rate of population growth, President Arif Alvi should have been advising the PTI government to get the national conversion on the subject to move beyond the expressions of regret, and ther supine acceptance that the population has to grow. Not only does the country have to accept that the world has a problem, but that Pakistan is part of the problem, not the solution.
The belief often used by supporters of the non-restriction of growth has been that every mouth to feed also brings with it two hands to work. That only applies if those hands, and the brain controlling both the mouth and the hands are properly trained. Apart from this education, it is essential to arrange a proper health care system so that the nation has a healthy workforce. How much national effort has gone into education and training, or into healthcare, is visible to all. Both are inadequate for the population that exists today, let alone that which will be in existence later.
Perhaps like global warming, population is not going to be a problem for one nation alone to solve, but which requires an effort by the comity of nations. While there is much regrettable exploitation of the South and its resources by the North, it must also be accepted that the peoples of the South, while plenteous, remain unedifying because they remain ignorant and unwell. Pakistan has long seen worry expressed about the number of people we have, but what should have been part of a national consensus has been made a touch-button issue by the religious right. Along with population growth, certain discussions become inevitable, such as sex education and contraception. The ulema have not been brought on board on these subjects, as they have been in Bangladesh for example, and have been left as opponents where they can become instrumental in informing people that population planning is beneficial.
