Zubair Qureshi
Curbing Pakistan’s runaway population growth rate demands a united political front and the parliamentarians need to transcend political differences for greater national cause and all political parties should sign a charter of population.
This was said by Senator Sherry Rehman while addressing the inaugural meeting of Parliamentary Forum on Population (PFP) held after General Election 2024.
Organized by the Population Council with the support of United Nations Population Fund, the event called for joint efforts to tackle the rapid population growth in the country.
Sherry Rehman also emphasized stronger legislation and investment in family planning programmes which could accelerate Pakistan’s progress across social, economic and environmental areas of sustainable development.
“The country’s resources are already stretched thin by rapid population growth which hinders achievement of development goals like education, employment opportunities, and access to basic necessities”, she added. She also praised a cross party consensus on population agenda at the PFP and emphasized the need for a harmonious balance between population and resources for the progress of the country.
Earlier, in her welcome remarks, Dr. ZebaSathar, Country Director of the Population Council, drew the audience’s attention to Pakistan’s current fertility trends and the broad impact of population growth on the country’s development indicators.
She remarked, “With 241.5 million population and staggering intercensal growth rate of 2.55%, the Population Census 2023 showed a rapid increase in population which poses a significant challenge to the country’s development as well as underscores the imperative for strong political resolve.”
