Pakistan, July 8 -- In the quiet corridors of power and the loud arenas of prime time talk-shows in Islamabad, a convenient consensus has taken hold. Whenever the conversation turns to Pakistan's compounding economic troubles, country's population growth is invariably blamed for its underdevelopment. This view, shared by politicians and commentators alike, frames an expanding population as liability. It is reductive framing, one that quietly shifts the blame away from deep-seated governance bottlenecks, an unexpanded tax base, and structural economic failures, placing the burden directly on the family choices of ordinary citizens.

Yet, looking at the shifting global landscape, this domestic narrative feels increasingly out of touch. The ...