Pakistan Army Chief Marshal Asim Munir is now expected to play a role in steering the country’s population control efforts, Dawn reported, adding another responsibility to his expanding responsibilities.Munir has become the de facto center of power in Pakistan, increasingly transcending his traditional role of commanding the armed forces to play an important role in shaping Islamabad’s foreign policy and strategic decisions. Pakistan has long relied on its military and top generals to shoulder responsibilities well beyond defence, with the armed forces playing an important role in governance, diplomacy and policymaking.He has been included in a high-level committee set up by Prime Minister Sherbaz Sharif to address the issue, Dawn newspaper reported. Federal Health Minister Said Mustafa Kamal disclosed this during a joint meeting of two Senate committees discussing population policy and human rights.The report said the committee is studying measures to slow Pakistan’s population growth and Munir will join senior ministers responsible for finance, planning and health, Dawn reported.Kamal, while addressing a joint meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services and the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Thursday, said the prime minister had convened several high-level meetings on population management.He said Marshal Munir was one of the members of the newly formed committee.“The government is prioritizing this issue and important policy decisions are being taken at all levels,” the minister told lawmakers, Dawn newspaper reported.The meeting, co-chaired by Senators Amir Waliuddin Chishti and Samina Mumtaz Zehri, focused on Pakistan’s growing population and possible policy reforms.Pakistan is currently the fifth most populous country in the world and is expected to surpass Indonesia to become the fourth most populous country by 2030.Kamal said population management requires government intervention and public participation.He argued that the existing National Finance Commission (NFC) incentive formula prevents provinces from reducing population growth because resource allocation is closely linked to population size.“If a province succeeds in reducing population growth, its share of the NFC will decline and provinces with larger populations will receive more funding,” he said.Also read: Pakistan claims 88 militants killed in ongoing crackdown in BalochistanThe Minister proposed to reduce the population component of the NFC formula from 82% to 50%.Kamal also attributed part of Pakistan’s high birth rate to limited access to contraceptives and said contraceptive products were now given tax exemptions.He said that about 6.7 million people are born in Pakistan every year and it is estimated that expanding family planning coverage can reduce the annual population growth by about 1.5 million people.Lawmakers question whether population welfare remains a federal subject after the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.The minister confirmed that responsibilities had been devolved to the provinces, while representatives of the Law Ministry said that Parliament could not legislate on matters specifically assigned to provincial governments.A representative of the Council of Islamic Ideology told the meeting that there were no sectarian differences over measures aimed at addressing rapid population growth.The Senate committee directed the Ministry of Justice, religious scholars and relevant parliamentary committees to hold consultations to develop a consensus-based population management strategy, Dawn newspaper reported.Another joint meeting is expected to be held in the coming days as the government continues to discuss reforms to address Pakistan’s demographic challenges.
