Pakistan stands at a demographic crossroads. With 60% of our population under 30 — one of the world's largest youth cohorts — our nation pulses with unparalleled potential. Yet this promise is being systematically stifled. Deep-rooted inequities in nutrition, health and education shackle millions from birth, while gender disparities cast a crippling shadow over our collective future.

The World Bank's 2020 Human Capital Index delivers a devastating verdict: under current conditions, a Pakistani child will achieve only 41% of their productive potential — less than half the outcome of a British child (78%). As global attention highlighted this on World Population Day — with its theme of empowering youth to build families in a fair, hopeful world — Pakistan's trajectory demands immediate reckoning. How can a nation thrive when systemic barriers deny its greatest asset — its young people — the tools to flourish?

For countless young Pakistanis, key life decisions are shaped by forces beyond their........

© The Express Tribune