Illiteracy and overpopulation are the two major problems of Pakistan. As we know, the economic development of a country depends on various factors such as its available natural resources, capital and human resources. The human resources have the fundamental importance because without them, the natural resources can not be exploited nor capital utilized productively. But overpopulation, having too much of it, also creates unfavourable effects on the economy. The main cause of illiteracy in the urban areas is generally poverty whereas in the rural areas, there are the added factors like lack of development and not having enough schools. When they do have schools, they are either of very low standards, or few and far between or not easily accessible for being far flung. In many rural areas, people dont send their daughters to schools as they believe it is worthless to educate girls. Some are so illiterate to actually believe that womens education is against Islam. Lack of education is also one of the main causes in the current disturbance in the economic sector. Lack of professional training and qualification is the chief cause of people not being able to run their businesses appropriately. In todays global world, education is required to enhance capability of the worker otherwise we will not be able to achieve growth in our industries. Pakistan has made good progress in many fields including some sectors of education. But the primary education is our weakest area. The government hasnt taken a lot of steps either to provide free primary education because, as we all know, poverty of the state is also a major problem of Pakistan. The poverty of the people means a lot of families who are unable to send their children to school tell them to seek employment rather than sitting idle at home. But Pakistan cannot survive with out tackling these twin problems of illiteracy and overpopulation. Illiteracy can be overcome only by making education compulsory for everyone and the problem of overpopulation can only be controlled by family planning. -RIDA TARIQ, Lahore, February 25.