Pakistan is suffering from Performance Management. The main problem with our country is that we have been spending (lions share from the budget) on useless and non-productive tasks. Rather than subsidizing productive parts of the economy (70% agriculture) , we have been subsidizing the living of the richest of the rich. We have been paying, and have been very happy about defending these expanses claims, for their food, medical, utilities, even for their kids’ nappies.
Our priorities have been, and still are, wrong. I agree that there should be a robust program on improving common man’s understanding of population planning, but referring back to what my friend said, “When production remains same and people increase, then prices increase automatically.”
Why is that the production has remained same? Who was responsible for planning and keeping an eye on it. Someone out there has not done their job right. They should be accounted for. If this could not have been done in the past, as we are very broad minded when it comes down to forgiving elite class. Lets say, shall we demand some sort of accountability process for everyone in present and future? PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
In response to these lines I found another comment from some one mentioning columnist of Pakistan that None of these columnists is pointing and nor do they have the courage to point to the real cause of the problem. Pakistan’s population has gone through the roof in last 60 years. It is now getting more and more difficult every year to feed and provide resources for this ballooning population. Britian’s population was 50 million in 1947 when West Pakistan’s population was 35 million. And now Pakistan’s population is 170 million compared to 60 million of Britain. Pakistan is reaching its limit to feed so many mouths. Horn of Africa reached that limit 10 years ago so people there die of hunger and fight over water there. If Pakistan’s population keep on increasing at his high rate, we will also face same problems in next few years.
When production remains same and people increase, then prices increase automatically. Govt can’t do much about it. Production depends on land, which is constant. Fertilizer and waster keep on getting expensive year by year due to increasing energy prices.
For thousands of years, world population grew at a low rate, controlled by infant mortality, non-treatment of common diseases and epidemics. Life in the past used to be very unreliable. Average age of Abbassid Caliph used to be 55 years. People used to die of common infections. Plagues and famine used to wipe out regions. Modern medicine controlled the diseases in last century and thus paved the way for this explosive population growth. Europe was first to face this problem and they first avoided it by discovering new lands and exporting their excessive population there. But that too was not enough and in the end two World Wars cured this problem. We need to remember that Hitler’s one main argument was that Germany’s excessive population need “living room” beyond its borders. 20 million Germans died in the war and the rest got the living room anyway.
Now we are caught up in a world of fixed borders, passports and visas. Population cannot be exported easily, but Pakistanis are good at running away from country:) Nobody wanted to get away from India even when it was a colony. Now 90% don’t want to live there, you need to look at the population graph to know why.
Convincing Muslim people that they should have less children is very difficult. We are family-oriented people and children are at the heart of the family. More children are a luxury for us, and nobody will abandon it unless they have no choice. I think that point has come now. There will be difficult 30-40 years when the population growth will decelerate as a result of the food and energy shortages. It can be compared to the tumultuous first half of 20th century for Europe. I hope after that it will be smooth sailing afterwards.
Govt has been pushing for family planning for last half of the century, we all know about the campaigns. Major opposition has been from the religious circles. But it seems they are also understanding the grave situation. In Iran, anybody wanting to be married first need to complete a family planning course and present the certificate. But you can understand the uproar that will happen if such condition is applied in Pakistan. We are a fully democratic society and the life choices cannot be applied from above like China and Iran.
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