ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed that 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.

Chairing a meeting on population welfare, the prime minister said that population planning must be aligned with the nati­o­nal development, econo­m­­ic stability and the improve­­ment of human resources, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

He directed officials concerned to convene the inaugural meeting of the National Population Council at the earliest and asked that its organisational structure be finalised without delay to help effective policymaking on population issues.

PM Shehbaz announced that he would personally chair the National Population Council, which would include chief ministers of the four provinces, the prime minister of AJK, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, and other key stakeholders.

During the meeting, par­­ticipants were briefed on the country’s rising population and measures aim­ed at its control and welfare.

The briefing highlighted plans to link social protection programmes with the family planning initiativ­es, while emphasising that women’s education and economic empowerment would form a key component of the national population control strategy.

The meeting was also informed that a nationwide public awareness campaign would be launched to promote balanced population growth and family planning.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026