The promise of a secure future remains elusive, and the wait is unlikely to end soon. With just four years to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, lofty pledges at global forums increasingly ring hollow as the poor pay the price for leaders’ misplaced priorities.
The latest assessment puts global SDG achievement at a mere 16 per cent, signalling that many targets will be missed and by a wide margin.
Despite independent media campaigns to build public awareness of the SDGs, policymakers gradually lost focus in Pakistan. The SDG cells created after the goals were adopted in 2015 first became dysfunctional and were eventually dissolved. Critics blame successive governments’ preoccupation with short-term political interests at the expense of long-term development.
The loss of momentum is particularly striking given Pakistan’s early start. It was among the first countries to translate the 17 SDGs into defined, benchmarked national targets and establish dedicated teams to pursue them at the federal and provincial levels.
Cells created after the goals were adopted in 2015 first became dysfunctional and were eventually dissolved
Pakistan ranked 131st among 167 nations in the 2026 Sustainable Development Report, improving from 140th last year but remaining well below its 115th position in 2016 and 129th in 2021.
Of the 17 SDGs, Pakistan is on track only on one: climate action. Major challenges persist across 11 goals: hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water, decent work and growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions. The situation has worsened in sustainable cities and peace goals.
Significant challenges also persist in poverty reduction, clean energy, responsible consumption and production and global partnership, while reduced inequality remains a challenge, though relatively less severe.
While global experts attributed lagging progress on the global goals to escalating conflicts, climate shocks, and a sharp decline in international development assistance, a member of Pakistan’s economic team privately blamed the country’s poor performance on persistent political, economic, security and climate challenges.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic position and international standing provide a stronger base for accelerating SDG progress, but acknowledged that the real test is translating stability into better lives.
“Under Uraan Pakistan, the priority is to convert economic gains into stronger human capital, productive jobs, quality public services, poverty reduction and resilience. The challenge is formidable: Pakistan faces an annual SDG financing gap estimated at 15.1pc of GDP, while debt servicing, recurrent expenditure, rapid population growth and climate shocks further squeeze development resources.
“Progress therefore requires stronger federal-provincial coordination, greater mobilisation of SDG financing and much tighter alignment between policy, budgets and implementation. Government at all levels carries responsibility, complemented by parliament, business and civil society. Better data and accountability are equally critical. An improved ranking is encouraging, but the ultimate measure of success is tangible improvement in people’s lives,” said the planning minister.
Some analysts argue that political leaders have mastered the rhetoric of development but repeatedly fallen short on delivery. While successive governments have embraced the SDGs as a pillar of national planning, weak development indicators expose chronic underinvestment in health, education, nutrition and other critical areas.
The human cost is stark: about 41pc of Pakistani children are stunted, maternal anaemia is widespread, adolescent pregnancies continue to put mothers and infants at risk, and millions remain deprived of quality education and healthcare.
Younus Dagha, Chairman, Policy Research and Advisory Council, was blunt: “Pakistan’s improved global image cannot mask grim realities — poverty, weak public services, gender inequality and low human capital.
“The problem is not a lack of SDG frameworks but failure to deliver. Governments adopted targets without translating them into funded, actionable plans; provinces neglected local governments, where much of the delivery belongs; and corporate engagement remains largely superficial.
“Fiscal constraints matter, but misplaced priorities and weak accountability matter more. Nearly a decade after embracing the SDGs, even legislators’ understanding of specific targets remains questionable. Recognition is not implementation. Unless budgets, policies and institutions are aligned with measurable outcomes, 2030 will bring another reckoning, not achievement,” said Mr Dagha.
An Islamabad-based insider privately described the SDGs poor outcomes as largely self-inflicted, compounded by Covid-19, floods and a prolonged sluggish economy. Political changes — seven prime ministers, including caretakers, between 2017 and 2026 — undermined policy continuity, while poor governance and inadequate development spending deepened poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation.
Even the scale of failure is difficult to measure because critical data remains patchy. The private sector has done little better: without incentives or binding obligations, companies largely pursue SDGs only where commercial gains exist.
Public understanding of the SDGs, he added, also remains superficial. Ultimately, he argued, roads and infrastructure cannot substitute for neglected schools, preventive healthcare, clean and affordable energy, decent work, stronger laws and effective rule of law.
Business leaders acknowledged the scale of the challenge, warning that prolonged low growth could deepen it. Abdul Aleem, Secretary General of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), said economic stability and an improved global image would mean little unless translated into better lives through sustained investment in health, education, water, gender equality and governance.
Primary responsibility, he stressed, rests with federal, provincial and local governments, while parliament must strengthen oversight. Corporate efforts, though meaningful, cannot substitute for effective public systems.
OICCI members contributed Rs156 million to gender equality and Rs238m to clean water and sanitation in 2025, but such initiatives remain modest against national needs. Mr Aleem also flagged weak SDG awareness, noting the absence of credible national assessments of either public understanding or legislators’ grasp of specific targets and benchmarks.
Nazish Shekha, Head of the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB), identified fragmented policymaking and implementation as a key obstacle. “The SDGs come with specific targets and measurable indicators. Policymakers must set clear national targets and cascade them to relevant stakeholders, with each defining its own deliverables.
Unfortunately, everyone continues to work in silos, with little alignment or coordination. Meaningful progress will remain elusive unless this changes. If the recent economic improvements translate into sustained investment in development priorities aligned with the SDGs, Pakistan can begin to close the gap.”
The writer is a former Dawn staffer
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 7th, 2026
