Pakistan, July 16 -- Pakistan stands at a critical demographic juncture. With over 241 million people and counting, we are adding more than five million individuals to our population each year. If current trends persist, the country will surpass 386 million by 2050. This is not a distant projection-it is a challenge unfolding in real time. And it demands a level of policy attention and urgency we have yet to demonstrate.

Over the past decade, my experience within the demographic policy and research space has made it abundantly clear: we will not meet our economic, environmental, or human development goals without grappling honestly with the scale and implications of our population growth. This is not about alarmism. It is about aligning ...