ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday termed Pakistan’s annual population growth rate of 2.55 percent an alarming trend requiring immediate and coordinated policy action at the national level to address the issue.
The prime minister chaired a meeting at the PM Office to review the challenges posed by Pakistan’s rising population and to deliberate on effective strategies to manage it, an official news release said.
“We need comprehensive planning to ensure our growing population, especially the youth, becomes a productive part of the economy,” he stressed. “A large segment of our population comprises young people, who are the most valuable asset for our country.”
He emphasised that the government was taking several initiatives to empower the youth and integrate them into the country’s economic mainstream.
He instructed the formation of a committee to develop a comprehensive and effective national policy, in close collaboration with provincial governments. “A unified and strategic response is the need of the hour,” he asserted, calling for a coordinated federal-provincial framework to tackle population-related issues. He also stressed the importance of launching a nationwide awareness campaign to educate citizens about the implications of unchecked population growth, especially in the context of sustainable economic development.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over Pakistan’s exports reaching $2.7 billion in the first month of the new fiscal year. “From July 2024 to July 2025, exports have increased by 17 percent, which is very heartening.
“Nine percent increase in exports in just one month is very satisfactory,” he said, adding, “Export-led growth is the top priority of the government.” He said that in the last fiscal year, $34.9 billion were received in remittances, which is 28.8 percent more than in the fiscal year 2023-2024. Meanwhile, MNA Sardar Ghulam Abbas and former MNA Raja Riaz called on the prime minister and discussed matters of mutual interest. Separately, Shehbaz expressed grief over the demise of former chief justice of Lahore High Court Mian Allah Nawaz.
The prime minister, in a statement, said that late Justice Mian Allah Nawaz rendered valuable services to the judiciary. “In this hour of grief, all our sympathies are with the family of the deceased,” he said and prayed for peace for the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear the loss.
