Balance between population and resources must for progress: PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has underscored the critical need to balance population growth with Pakistan's resources, stating it is essential for sustainable development. He warned that unchecked population expansion places immense pressure on national resources and significantly challenges the country's progress.

Chairing a meeting on population welfare, Sharif asserted that population planning must be strategically integrated with national development goals, economic stability, and the enhancement of human capital. He directed officials to promptly convene the inaugural meeting of the National Population Council and finalize its organizational structure to facilitate robust policymaking on population-related issues.

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maintaining a balance between population and available resources was essential for sustainable development, saying that rapid population growth was placing increasing pressure on national resources and posing a major challenge to the country’s progress.

Announcing his personal chairmanship of the National Population Council, Sharif confirmed its composition would include the chief ministers of all four provinces, the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, and other vital stakeholders. The meeting received a briefing on the nation's escalating population and proposed control and welfare measures. Key strategies discussed included linking social protection programs with family planning initiatives and emphasizing women's education and economic empowerment as central to the population control strategy. A nationwide public awareness campaign is also planned to promote balanced population growth and family planning.

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population planning must be aligned with the national development, economic stability and the improvement of human resources.