New Delhi: Pakistan wants its coveted Field Marshal Asim Munir to take on a new job: population control. The fifth most populous country in the world is now employing its military head to implement health measures to bring down its ever-expanding population. Pakistanis on social media have since been having a field day— they are amused, curious, but also openly giving suggestions as Munir dons a new hat.
One X user said that given Munir’s history it would be an easy task. He has expertise in killing people. Others want to know: Will Munir now distribute condoms on the streets?
Dawn reported that Pakistan’s health minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on 9 June, during a joint meeting of the Senate committee on National Health Services and the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, disclosed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir had convened a meeting to discuss population control measures, reflecting the country’s seriousness.
“The government is treating this issue with the highest priority and important policy decisions are being taken at every level,” the health minister was quoted as saying, adding that the finance and planning ministers were also members of the committee.
The situation is so dire that even religious scholars who were part of the meeting agreed on an urgent policy to curb population growth. A representative of the Council of Islamic Ideology quoted in the report claimed there was no sectarian disagreement over measures to address rapid population growth.
Who is to blame?
According to Kamal, one key reason behind the high birth rate is limited contraception. Pakistan records around 6.7 million births annually, and the health minister estimated that wider access to family planning could reduce annual population growth by at least 1.5 million people.
Pakistan’s health minister, however, has found a scapegoat for the population rise—the provinces. According to Dawn, there was also a debate in the meeting over how to slow population growth and whether the federal government has the authority to do so.
According to the health minister, the current funding pattern toward provinces promotes population growth. Pakistan’s National Finance Commission (NFC) Award decides how money collected by the federal government is divided among the provinces. Dawn reported that currently, 82 per cent of the formula is based on population. This means provinces with more people receive a larger share of federal funds.
Kamal argued that this creates an unintended incentive: If a province successfully reduces its population growth through family planning, its population grows more slowly. Over time, that province could receive a smaller share of federal money than a province whose population grows faster.
He went on to suggest changing the formula so that only 50 per cent depends on population, with the remaining share based on other factors (such as poverty, development needs, or revenue generation). However, after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the federal government may not have the legal power to make these rules since population welfare became a provincial responsibility. So even if the federal government wants nationwide laws to reduce population growth, it cannot simply impose them on the provinces. Moreover, the Pakistan National Assembly (Parliament) can’t legislate on a provincial subject.
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Controlling population through guns and tanks
But Pakistanis can’t decide on what is worse: the idea that a military head needs to intervene in population control policies or that every federal sector in the country is slowly giving way to military rule.
“After curbing terrorism in Pakistan, attracting foreign investment through SIFC, sparking a green revolution in agriculture, and amending the constitution, this is what now remains to be done,” read one X post.
Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor wrote: “If Govt needs their field marshal for population control, it should go home!”
One Pakistani X user already anticipated the outcome: “I think they are planning to control the population through guns and tanks. It seems like an easy, reliable, and tested solution.”
Another brought proof, albeit sarcastically: “He successfully reduced population in Kashmir, Balochistan, Muridke, Islamabad and FATA.”
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)