PAKISTAN : ISSUES AND

SOLUTIONS
Pakistan's brief, troubled history as a nation-state wracked


INTRODUCTION
by military coups and Islamic militancy contrasts sharply
with its long, ancient history as a hub of Mogul, Vedic and
Indus civilizations.
We wish to discuss the burning issues surrounding our nation
and provide reasonable solutions to those challenges.
ANY ISSUE OF THIS NATION , AT ITS
ROOTS , IS A SOCIAL PROBLEM
A harmful social condition can be
identified as a certain noxious factor
in a society evoking distress and
uncertainty. This harmful social
condition becomes a social
problem when a number of
competing needs linger for long.

child
Today Pakistan is facing
labor, poverty, illiteracy,
population growth and
terrorism as its major social
problems.
  POVERTY

Poverty in Pakistan is a concern. Although the middle-

class has grown in Pakistan to 35 million, nearly one-
quarter of the population is classified poor as of October
2006. As of 2008, 17.2% of the total population lives below
the poverty line, which is the lowest figure in the history
of Pakistan. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the
country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the
1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption.
qAccording to the Human Developmental Index(HDI), 60.3% of MAJOR CAUSES OF
Pakistan's population lives on under $2 a day, compared to POVERTY
75.6% in nearby India and 81.3% in nearby Bangladesh and
some 22.6% live under $1 a day, compared to 41.6% in India
Lack of Effective Demand
and 49.6% in Bangladesh.  Population Pressure
qWealth distribution in Pakistan is highly uneven, with
10% of the population earning 27.6% of income  Lack of Investment
 Absence of Solid Industria
Estates
 Sudden fluctuation in
Demand and Supply
 Shortage of Capital
 Market imperfection
 Low literary rate
 Inflationary pressure
Govt . doesn ’ t work to create
more Employment opportunitie
 LITERATE IN THE LITERAL
SENSE?
Rather than increasing, in the last sixty years, the literacy
rate has decreased as the schools have not kept up with the
population explosion. Sadly, most people in the villages
cannot read or write.

MAJOR CAUSES

ore, rural areas are not developed and most of the areas don't have schools and if they do then they ar
ney, some people are brain washed who believe that education is against Islam, basically they are follow
dren to madrassas, religious schools, as they get free food and shelter in those institutions .They tell
ØThere is no national standardized educational system.
 CHILD LABOUR
Child Labor is a social issue within

Ø According to the Federal Bureau of
Pakistan and is considered a violationStatistics of Pakistan, 3.3 million out
of human rights by the United Nations. of 40 million children are working in
Pakistani society is such that, a poor various industries, although child
child can quite conveniently be labor is strictly prohibited by law.
deprived of basic education, only to
Ø Child Labor is a serious social problem
feed the rest of his family members.
Anyone up to the age of 18 is a child within Pakistan because the future
and his basic right is to receive and progress of any country depends
education and proper upbringing on an educated and enlightened
rather than use his hands to destroy youth and if a child is not properly
his own bright future. socialized then he/she will not be
able to grow as confident and literate
Pakistani citizens.
 POPULATION GROWTH 2 . 1 % annual change -
Source : World Bank , World Develop

According to the latest Pakistan Demograp

2006 - 07 , Pakistani women continue to ha
children

Experts worry that the rapidly expanding population

could exacerbate a range of problems in Pakistan. Dr.
Zeba A. Sattar explains, "We will have to deal with a
huge number of additional people in Pakistan, whereas
already our water resources, housing and everything
is really hard pressed. Above all jobs - the working
age population will increase by 70 million in the
next 20 years!"
 CRIME AND TERRORISM

United States in the global war on terror. Currently, the biggest threat to the s

THE FACTS
attributed to a number of sources : sectarian violence - mainly between Sunni and Shia Mus
iven " Afghan Arabs " based in or near Pakistan , originating from and the subsequent war ag
ment's battle with jihad groups banned after 9 / 11 , and the U . S . pursuit of Al - Qaeda , usual
 MANY REASONS,FEW SOLUTIONS TO
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
GRAPPLING WIT H POVERTY AND CHILD LABOR
s, yet will be challenging for Pakistan to increase revenues by broadening its tax base. Me
d implemented. To succeed, these will require substantial How can we reduceinpopulation
improvements governance growth
and pu
ng general
other awareness
shocks among
. These can takethethe
masses
form. of social assistance, jobs on public works, and direc
yaging peoplethe
improving in lives
rural of
areas
the to use contraceptives
Pakistani people who .have been left behind.
material rewards to influence people’s decisions. For example a family consisting of four
 UTIONS FOR DECREASING THE ILLITERACYCOUNTERING RATE : TERRORISM AND VIOLENCE
ss towards the following goals :
he
o that
foreign
a far
intrusion
larger portion
in the country
of the .population
Specially, the
including
role ofboth
RAWboys
and Mosad
and girls
. It ,will
are
ington
level of
on schooling
the issues. of drone attacks so that our sovereignty should be preserved
tem
announced
with different
by the Ukinds
.S led of
forces
institutions
. . The higher education system in Californ
 POLITICAL DILEMMAS
WHO IS WHO IN PAKISTAN POLITICS?
ess corrupt than whom: few, if any, of the players on the national scene today are clean of the taint of

familiar with army generals and dictators than democratic minded political leaders. Democr
r Bhutto did not die natural deaths, one was hanged and the other assassinated . Many Muslim
 HOW CAN THINGS RETURN
TO EQUILIBRIUM ?
ØThere should be a strict check on politicians functioning at
andidates having sufficient academic qualifications should be
ØLeaders must mobilize the nation and serve as examples for
ØRole of the parliament must be enhanced .
ØLaws in the country must be effectively impose
ar and humanistic so that all citizens , especially women and m
to 10 year plan to deal with serious economic , religious and s
the best .
 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
e b et w e en ec onomic dev
di s t ur b in g the balanc
a nd have been
n s h ea l th
the populatio
’

NATURAL DISASTERS
ØPakistan is subject
limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of thetopopulation
frequent does not hav
earthquakes which are
often severe
( especially in north
and west ) and severe
flooding along the
Indus after heavy
rains ( July and
August ).
ØLandslides are
POLLUTION common in the northern
ØAs industry has expanded , factories have emitted mountains
more and . more
toxic effluents into the air and water . The number of textile and
food processing mills in rural Punjab has grown greatly since the
mid - 1970s , resulting in pollution of its rivers and irrigation
canals .
ØAir pollution has also become a major problem in most cities .
There are no controls on vehicular emissions , which account for 90
 REMEDIES
The National Conservation Strategy Report
recommends fourteen program areas for priority
implementation: maintaining soils in croplands,
increasing efficiency of irrigation, protecting
watersheds, supporting forestry and plantations,
restoring rangelands and improving livestock,
protecting water bodies and sustaining
fisheries, conserving biodiversity, increasing
energy efficiency, developing and deploying
renewable resources, preventing or decreasing
pollution, managing urban wastes, supporting
institutions to manage common resources,
integrating population and environmental
programs, and preserving the cultural heritage.
 GROUP MEMBERS :
SYED HASAN ABID
RASHID SAAD SIDDIQUI
LABIB IQBAL
SHAHMIR KURD