Environmental Protection and Public Health Suffer as Defence Budget Grow

International International News

Posted by AI on 2025-06-11 11:15:10 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-25 05:59:00

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Pakistan, a country already struggling with environmental degradation, has made matters worse by drastically cutting its budget for environmental protection. While the defence budget saw an increase of over 20 per cent, the environment budget was slashed from 7.2 billion PKR to 3.1 billion PKR. This decision comes despite the undeniable impact of climate change and environmental factors on the country's instability and security challenges.

The implications of this budget redistribution will be felt across the country, especially in the context of public health. By underfunding environmental protection initiatives, the government is essentially ignoring the harmful effects of climate change and environmental pollution on public health. Diseases, respiratory illnesses, and other health issues related to environmental factors will only continue to proliferate, exacerbating the already fragile healthcare situation in the nation.

The move also reflects a myopic prioritization of security over sustainability, unwittingly forging ahead with development at the expense of the ecosystem. This unsustainable development path will ultimately result in ecological collapse and worsening social inequalities, which in turn will lead to food insecurity, displacement, and heightened ethnic tensions.

To make matters worse, this skewed prioritization comes at a time when sustainable development and environmental consciousness should be at the forefront of every government's agenda. These critical challenges will undoubtedly test Pakistan's ability to balance its budget priorities and respond to the pressing needs of its citizens.

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