diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/fltk/1.4.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/fltk/1.4.nix
index a83ef702d631..ff8f8734926b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/fltk/1.4.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/fltk/1.4.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@
   withCairo ? true,
   cairo,
 
-  withPango ? withXorg,
+  # pango depends on Xft, and implicitly enables cairo.
+  # So only enable pango if cairo is enabled too.
+  withPango ? withXorg && withCairo,
   pango,
 
   withDocs ? true,