Overview
- Wrapping up the two-day dialogue in Islamabad, speakers urged a parliamentary debate, a national charter and a multi‑stakeholder working group to steer reforms.
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb warned that unmanaged growth will dampen GDP gains and said population must be mainstreamed into fiscal planning and budgets.
- Religious and legal scholars, including the Council of Islamic Ideology chair, affirmed that birth spacing is permissible in Islam, easing a key political barrier.
- Participants cited a population of roughly 241–241.5 million with one of South Asia’s fastest growth rates, straining health, education, water, jobs and urban planning.
- Data presented highlighted low contraceptive use (about 34%) and unmet need (~17%), with calls for women’s empowerment and stronger centre‑province coordination as provinces begin to adjust structures.