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Pakistan has consistently emphasized the importance of education from the time of its creation. Targets have been set and reset to achieve universal primary education at the national level and at the international level as a member country of the United Nations and many regional forums. The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides for free and compulsory education for children of ages 5-16. In- spite of these strong ideological, constitutional and policy provisions, Pakistan has failed to achieve the targets. It has missed all the education related targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Now, it is signatory and has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the education related goal ‘ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030’. This paper is a situation analysis of the state of school education in Pakistan in comparison with the E9, the most populous countries of the world, to which it is now a member. The paper has also proposed strategies to turn the renewed policy of the government to extend quality education to all into a doable action plan focusing on providing quality teachers in required number.