A chilling UN assessment has exposed Pakistan’s deepening food emergency, where 7.5 million souls battle severe insecurity and malnutrition. Last year’s monstrous monsoon floods and rising unrest have shattered the nation’s food systems beyond repair. According to the IPC framework, the winter period from late 2025 into early 2026 threatens 1.25 million with emergency-phase starvation. Immediate humanitarian intervention is critical to avert a ‘Catastrophe’ for over one million at risk. Economic pressures—feeble buying power and price swings—have choked supply lines. HIES figures confirm the pivot: food budgets shrank from 43% to 37% since 2005, as shelter and utilities ballooned to 25%. Falling real wages force rationing calories to meet essentials. Prevalence of serious food stress has doubled, hitting one in four by 2024-25. On education, I-SAP’s review shows families shoulder 55% of costs at 2.8 trillion rupees versus the government’s 2.23 trillion. Fees and coaching drain pockets amid distrust in state schools.
