- Advertisement -
ISLAMABAD, Jul 10 (APP): On the occasion of World Population Day, Senator Sherry Rehman, Vice President of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Chair of the Parliamentary Forum on Population, sounded the alarm on Pakistan’s unchecked population growth, calling it “a ticking time bomb that we keep sidelining.”
In her remarks, Senator Rehman stated, “Pakistan’s population now exceeds 241 million, with a fertility rate of 3.6 — the highest in South Asia. We are the 5th most populous country in the world. This is not a dividend; it is a structural burden that is pressing down on every household, every institution, and every resource.”
She warned that rapid population growth is feeding a vicious cycle of poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment. “Forty percent of our children under the age of five are stunted due to malnutrition. Every 50 minutes, a woman dies during childbirth. These are not just numbers — they are real human tragedies playing out every single day across Pakistan,” Senator Rehman said.
Senator Rehman underscored how population growth is deeply interlinked with health, education, and economic stability. “Population growth reduces per capita income — a 1% increase in population growth slashes PKR 35,000 annually from the average citizen’s income. If we reduce fertility to 2.1 births per woman by 2030, per capita income could rise by 37%, and GDP growth could increase to 3.9% by 2033.”
She urged for a robust, cross-party consensus to prioritize population issues at the highest level of national policy. “It’s time for all political parties to sign a Charter on Population. We must transcend political divides and act with unity, clarity, and urgency. Family planning is not a partisan issue — it is a national survival issue.”
Citing key statistics, she said “Only 34% of couples use contraception, while 17.3% face unmet family planning needs.
Raising contraceptive use to 52% can prevent 3,800 maternal and 140,000 infant deaths.”
“These are solvable problems,” she said. “But only if we stop treating population growth as a taboo and start treating it as a top-tier development issue.”
Senator Rehman also highlighted the role of cultural change and legislation. “We recently passed the Islamabad Child Marriage Restraint Bill, raising the legal marriage age from 16 to 18. This is not just a policy win; it’s a moral and social breakthrough for girls in Pakistan. Girls married too young are more likely to suffer domestic violence, leave school, and face life-threatening pregnancies. This law gives them the right to choose, to learn, to live.”
In her remarks, she recognized the role of development partners like the Population Council, UNFPA, and UKAID for providing crucial evidence and support. “But finding the solution is our job — as parliamentarians, as citizens, as leaders.”
She reiterated that population must be seen through a rights-based lens: “Family planning is not just about numbers. It’s about rights — the right of every woman to make informed decisions about her body, the right of every child to be born into a family that can nurture and protect them, and the right of every citizen to access health, education, and opportunity.”