Athens, Aug 1:Pakistan’s repeated reliance on the security apparatus has "crowded out" civilian capacity building and created an expectation that uniformed leadership can resolve every challenge — from foreign policy and economic management to demographic issues, a report has stated.
It argued that Islamabad’s longstanding dependence on military-led structures to address domestic challenges has delivered temporary control but failed to bring lasting change, whether in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency or crisis management.
The current population management initiative involving Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir risks repeating these failures across society on a wider scale, according to a report in Greek media outlet ‘News Bomb'.
Questioning the effectiveness of a military-led approach to demographic management, the report said, “A committee anchored around a Field Marshal may be able to push bureaucracies into compliance, compile metrics and enforce targets, yet it cannot manufacture community trust or shift deeply embedded norms about family size and reproductive health. Rather than empowering local governments, health workers, educators and women’s organisations, this model centralises authority at the federal and military level and depends on hierarchy instead of participation.”
“The more the military is seen to own demographic policy, the easier it becomes for sceptical groups to portray population control as an elite security project rather than a development necessity. In a context where civil-military relations are already contested and where many citizens view the security establishment as overbearing, this association may erode the social buy-in critical for any large-scale behavioural change,” it added.
According to the report, demographic challenges cannot be addressed like a border crisis; they require persuasion, incentives, rights-based policies, and reliable public service delivery.
“Another nuance is institutional crowding out when the government publicly advertises that it has failed to control population growth for three years and now turns to a Field Marshal; it implicitly signals that civilian ministries are inadequate and that ultimate problem-solving authority lies with the khaki leadership. This discourages investment in health governance planning capacity and local administration while reinforcing a dependence on military tutelage for non-military issues,” it detailed.
The report noted that these trends gradually erode the institutions essential for sustainable social policy, including long-term demographic management. It added that demographic pressures are closely intertwined with economic strain, climate vulnerability and rapid urbanisation—challenges that cannot be addressed through command channels alone.
“Given Pakistan’s record of securitising social issues and the complex drivers of fertility trends, the present approach is likely to generate more symbolic reassurance than substantive change. It allows the political leadership to claim decisive action by invoking the highest military authority, yet it does not answer how to reshape incentives for families, improve women’s access to education and employment or build a robust primary health system,” it mentioned.
--IANS
