When discussing the problems facing the nation, some typical issues are highlighted. These include health, education, unemployment, law and order and interregional problems. However, one of the most serious problems confronting the nation is overpopulation.

Pakistan has become the fifth most populous country in the world, which is nothing to be proud of. The problem of an exploding population genuinely imperils the nation’s future. Unfortunately, it doesn’t receive the attention it deserves from the rulers.

An editorial in an English newspaper once wrote that the population bomb was not only ticking, it had already exploded. It could have gleefully added ‘and people are picking up its pieces to sell in the market to fill their empty stomachs’. More so, as the country’s population jumped from 207.68 million in 2017 to 247.5 million in 2023. Adding........

© The News International