Pakistan, Oct. 6 -- When Justice Mansoor Ali Shah declared that a pension is not a favour but a constitutional right, he exposed one of the state's most uncomfortable truths: Pakistan guarantees dignity to its servants, but funds it on borrowed time. What began as a safety net has become a fiscal trap, a system that devours resources meant for the future to pay for the past.

The numbers tell the story better than any verdict. This year, the federal government will spend nearly Rs 900 billion on pensions, much, much more than it allocates to development. That figure has been rising by roughly a quarter every year. Across provinces, pension liabilities now rival or exceed salary budgets. In a few short decades, economists warn, these oblig...