ISLAMABAD, July 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf here on Thursday launched the first-ever “Population Policy of Pakistan” that seeks to achieve a “population stabilization” by 2020.

The Population Policy 2002 also calls for attaining a balance between the resources and population, increasing awareness of adverse consequences of rapid population growth, reducing population growth to 1.9 per cent by 2004, and to 1.3 per cent per annum by 2020. Its long-term objective is universal access to safe family planning methods by 2010.

The policy was launched at a function held in connection with the World Population Day and to give away awards to those who had made excellent contribution to population planning.

The president said the government was firmly committed to making population welfare programme a success in Pakistan. “It is a fight that we have to win for economic reasons as well as for social justice,” he added.

He said Pakistan could not be pulled out of the poverty trap with three million additional births every year. “Efforts to bring down the birth rate must be pursued vigorously through sound population management,” he urged. For this purpose, he said, leadership support and visible political commitment remained important.

Gen Musharraf categorically stated that the country’s population agenda would take the centre-stage of its development. He said he wanted regular monitoring of efforts to achieve 1.6 per cent population growth rate by the year 2012. “This target is achievable and we must have a resolve to do that”.

The president said the government was encouraging public and private partnership and introducing good governance practices. He said the government recognized the efforts of the ministry of population welfare in making the programme a success.

As Pakistan makes transition to democracy, the government has put in place the required policy and planning tools, he said.