LAHORE – Experts on Saturday urged immediate and practical steps to control Pakistan’s rapidly expanding population, warning that the unchecked rise — particularly in Punjab — could undermine national development efforts in the coming years.
Speaking at a session organised by the Lahore District Population Welfare Office under the ADP Scheme “Chief Minister Population Management and Family Planning Programme”, officials and health professionals underscored the need for youth engagement, awareness, and a unified national policy on population management.
District Population Officer Mazhar Iqbal cautioned that Pakistan’s population could swell to 260 million by 2030 if awareness efforts are not scaled up.
“Pakistan has a very large youth population — about 64 percent,” he said. “If these young people are not properly guided and informed, they could become a burden on the state rather than an asset. Awareness and education about population control are crucial at this stage.”
He emphasised that population management policies must be context-specific and free of misconceptions. “Many assume the Population Welfare Department seeks to stop reproduction altogether, which is incorrect. Our goal is balance, not restriction,” he clarified.
Sharing comparative data, Mazhar noted that Punjab remains the most populous province, while Balochistan has the lowest population, adding that population strategies vary accordingly. “Interestingly, the Population Welfare Department in Balochistan is actually working to increase population levels,” he said.
Mazhar further announced that the district administration was working closely with religious scholars and social media influencers to promote family planning awareness, a campaign set to continue until 2027.
Representing the Marie Stopes Society, Deputy Senior Manager Amir Yousaf highlighted the life-saving potential of family planning, pointing to alarming statistics on maternal and newborn health.
“A mother dies every 50 minutes due to complications from unintended pregnancies,” he revealed. “Forty percent of all births in Pakistan are unintended, and this is a major health crisis.”
He lamented the lack of access to contraceptives across the country. “It is unfortunate that Coca-Cola is available everywhere, but contraceptives are not — even in major cities like Lahore,” Amir said, adding that contraceptive use could prevent 72 percent of maternal deaths and 78 percent of newborn deaths.
“Pakistan ranks 164th on the Human Development Index,” he noted. “We must take action now, and the media has a critical role to play in spreading awareness.”
Two female doctors also addressed the session, stressing the importance of culturally sensitive communication. “There is no simple or familiar word for ‘contraceptive’ in Urdu, Punjabi, or other local languages, which makes it difficult to communicate the message effectively,” one doctor observed.
The event concluded with a discussion among journalists and columnists, who shared suggestions to enhance the impact of awareness campaigns through more relatable language and media engagement strategies.
