In the past 48 years, the state and the society has fared miserably in safeguarding the welfare of children in Pakistan. Since 1977, there has been a steady, albeit a slow-paced, increase in the percentage of children reported to be wasting. In 1965, 49 per cent of the children reported stunted growth in Pakistan. By 1977 a slightly smaller percentage (43 per cent) reported stunted growth. Almost no progress was made during General Zia's tenure when the stunted growth was observed for 42 per cent of the children. During the tenure of civilian governments in 1990 and 1994, stunted growth was observed for 36 per cent of the children. By 2011, the progress made in the early nineties was wiped out as the percent of stunted children climbed back to 44 per cent.
While Pakistan has spent untold trillions on developing nuclear bombs and conventional weapons, it has starved research in food and crop production. Even in Asia, Pakistan spends the least in proportionate terms on agriculture research and development. Dr. Mubarak Ali of the Punjab Agriculture Research Board recently revealed that Pakistan invested 0.29 per cent of its agriculture GDP on research whereas India invested 0.4%, China 0.6%, and Japan invested 2.5 per cent. As for the money invested in research in Pakistan, most is spent on overheads. "Instead of investing on research and innovation, Pakistan's agriculture sector is focused on increased use of inputs, including fertilisers, pesticides and water, which led to stagnation in productivity," revealed Dr. Ali.