By: Malik Bilal
A national security threat does not always announce itself at a border. It can begin with a flood warning that never reaches a village, a child who cannot get safe drinking water or a power outage that closes a factory. Such problems first harm families. When they recur across the country, they also weaken public finances, trust in government and the state’s ability to respond to a larger crisis.
Pakistan’s National Security Policy 2022–2026 recognises this connection. It places economic security at the centre of a broader view that includes the safety and well-being of citizens. The challenge now is to translate national commitments into reliable protection at the local level. Closing the gap between policy and delivery should be a central priority.
Traditional security concerns armed threats and territorial defence. Non-traditional security concerns risks that arise through the economy, public health, water, the climate and the systems people rely on each day. These are different problems and require different responses. A poor harvest is not a military threat. But if it cuts incomes, raises food prices and strains public resources alongside other shocks, it becomes part of a wider national-security picture. The point is to understand the path from a local problem to national vulnerability, not to put every public service under a security label.
Economic security is the first part of that picture. A government with limited revenue and foreign exchange has less room to maintain services or manage an emergency. Families experience the same weakness through prices and the shortage of decent work. The National Security Policy identifies external imbalances and inequality among the economic risks to national security. A stronger economy would give Pakistan more freedom to make choices at home and abroad; recurring financial pressure narrows those choices.
Electricity makes the connection plain. Unreliable power disrupts production, while high costs burden households and businesses. Financial problems in the power sector also draw on scarce public resources. The IMF has warned about the need to keep the sector financially viable and prevent circular debt from returning. Better collection and lower losses matter but reform must also protect poorer households from costs they cannot bear. Power policy should be judged by reliable service and a sounder system, not by tariff decisions alone.
Climate security asks whether people and public systems can withstand floods, heat, drought and other hazards. The 2022 floods exposed the cost of failing that test. A joint assessment estimated more than $14.9 billion in physical damage and about $15.2 billion in economic losses. These are distinct measures; together they exceeded $30 billion. Roads, homes, farms and incomes were damaged, and families needed shelter and care. The burden did not end when the water receded. Reconstruction competed for funds that were already limited.
Water security is closely tied to both the climate and the economy. Pakistan depends on the Indus system and groundwater for farming, while households and industry need reliable supplies of usable water. A shortage at the farm can affect food prices; unsafe water can make children ill; poor drainage can turn heavy rain into an urban emergency. Decisions about irrigation, groundwater, sanitation and land use are too often made separately, though their effects are connected. World Bank research on the Indus Basin calls for surface water and groundwater to be managed together.
Human security brings the discussion back to the people most affected. A World Bank assessment published in 2025 reported that nearly 40 per cent of Pakistani children were stunted and a quarter of children of primary-school age were out of school. It also found that 75 per cent of children attending primary school could not understand a simple story by the end of the primary cycle. Each figure measures a different problem. Taken together, they show how poor nutrition, health, water and learning can limit a child’s opportunities long before that loss appears in national economic figures.
Health and environmental risks extend beyond those measures. Pakistan’s continuing polio challenge requires regular access to communities and public trust, as well as medical supplies. Smog in Punjab harms health and daily life. In growing cities, weak drainage, unsafe water and waste collection expose residents to avoidable illness and flooding. Cybersecurity poses a different danger: disruption to a hospital, power network or government system can interrupt essential services during an emergency. Each problem has a lead agency, but none can be solved by that agency working alone.
The burdens are uneven. A flood-prone district, a water-stressed city and a remote community with limited health care do not face the same risks. Poorer households may have fewer means to move, replace lost income or recover after disaster. The World Bank has documented persistent regional and rural–urban gaps in welfare. A uniform national programme can therefore miss the places that need help most.
Pakistan’s response should begin with three practical priorities. The first is to make disaster preparation work in districts. The National Disaster Management Authority and provincial agencies should ensure that forecasts lead to warnings people actually receive. District administrations need maintained drainage, mapped evacuation routes, identified shelters and exercises before the monsoon. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy 2025–2030 provides a framework; readiness should be checked in the places where it must work.
The second priority is to treat safe water, nutrition, primary health care and basic learning as one connected investment in people. Provincial departments should share district-level information and focus resources where children face several disadvantages at once. Irrigation authorities should measure water use and losses, while local utilities should be answerable for drinking-water quality and service. Progress means fewer children stunted, more children learning to read and more households receiving safe water. It cannot be measured only by the number of projects announced.
The third priority is to give the economy more capacity to absorb shocks. Fairer revenue collection, fewer power-sector losses, stronger exports and productive jobs can create room to fund essential services. Support for vulnerable households must accompany reforms that impose immediate costs. Federal and provincial budgets should show what is being spent on prevention and whether those investments reduce repeated losses.
These priorities require political agreement as well as technical plans. The federal government can set common goals and publish comparable results; provinces control much of the spending and service delivery; local authorities must be equipped to act. Each level should know what it is responsible for, and citizens should be able to see progress by district. Without that chain of accountability, another national strategy will add to the paperwork while the risks remain where people live.
Pakistan must continue to defend itself against armed threats. It must also recognise what makes that defence sustainable: an economy able to withstand shocks, children able to grow and learn, and institutions that can keep essential services running. The country has already described these concerns as matters of national security. The next test is whether it can protect people before familiar, preventable risks become the next national emergency.
About the Author: Malik Bilal is a policy expert whose work examines vulnerabilities affecting Pakistan’s national resilience, including climate risks, food security, livelihoods and sustainable development. He can be reached at malikbilal1983@gmail.com
