The Pakistan Population Summit
Pakistan’s current population—and its future growth trajectory—far exceeds the country’s available resources and their capacity for sustainable expansion. This widening gap in food security, water access, energy, education, healthcare, and employment demands immediate, pragmatic solutions. To avert long-term crises, we must confront this mismatch through open dialogue, evidence-based strategies, and actionable policies that align demographic trends with resource scalability. DawnMedia is proud to announce the Pakistan Population Summit
GENERAL SESSION 1: Inaugural Session
Time: 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM
- Welcome Announcement
- National Anthem & Recitation
- Welcome Address: Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, CEO, Dawn
- Inaugural Address: Senator Sherry Rehman, the Chair of Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Rnvironmental Coordintaion & Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the senate.
- Keynote Address: Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Member of the National Assembly, Foreign Affairs Committee, Climate Change Committee and Convenor of the Task Force on SDGs
- Video Message: Prof. Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives
GENERAL SESSION 2: Restoring the Population Balance by 2050
Time: 10:55 AM – 11:40 AM
- Session Chair & Keynote Address: Dr. Zeba A. Sathar, Country Director, Pakistan, Population Council
- Speaker: Dr. Hanid Mukhtar, Fellow, Consortium for Development Policy Research
- Speaker: Dr. G.M. Arif, Former Joint Director, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
- Speaker: Mr. Sam Waldock, Development Director, British High Commission
Tea Break
Time: 11:40 AM – 11:50 AM
GENERAL SESSION 3: Accelerating Economic Growth Towards a More Optimal Balance
Time: 11:55 AM – 1:05 PM
- Session Chair: Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue
- Co-Chair & Address: Her Excellency Jane Marriott, CMG OBE, British High Commissioner to Pakistan
- Keynote Address: Dr. S. Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA, Karachi
- Speaker: Dr. Ali Cheema, Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences
- Speaker: Dr. Bolormaa Amgaabazar, Country Director for Pakistan, World Bank
GENERAL SESSION 4: Translating Political Resolve into Action on the TAWAZUN Narrative
Time: 1:10 PM – 2:00 PM
- Keynote Address & Panel Moderator: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Founding Chairman, Parliamentary Forum on Population
- Video Message: Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law & Justice
- Panelist: Dr. Nafisa Shah, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
- Panelist: Dr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar, Member of the National Assembly
- Panelist: Shaista Pervaiz, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
- Panelist: Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, Former Minister for Finance & Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Lunch Break
Time: 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
GENERAL SESSION 5: Regional Review of Population & Economic Growth
Time: 2:35 PM – 3:35 PM
- Session Chair: Dr. Luay Shabaneh, Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Pakistan
- Keynote Address: Dr. Rashid Amjad, Director, Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Lahore School of Economics
- Speaker: H.E. Rahmat Hindiarta Kusuma, Charge’D Affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
Dr. Shabaneh in conversation with Dr. Rashid Amjad, Director, Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Lahore School of Economics & Prof. Mehtab S. Karim, President, Population Association of Pakistan.
GENERAL SESSION 6: The Human Development Crisis
Time: 3:40 PM – 4:10 PM
- Session Chair: Raza Rabbani, Former Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
- Keynote Address: Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, Former Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
GENERAL SESSION 7: A Heightened Responsibility to Restore the Balance Between the Centre and the Provinces
Time: 4:15 PM – 5:10 PM
- Session Chair: Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, Minister of State for National Health Services, Coordination & Regulation
- Online Speaker: Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Minister for Health & Population Welfare, Sindh
- Video Message: Khawaja Imran Nazir, Minister for Health & Population Welfare, Punjab
- Video Message: Shakeel Qadir Khan, Chief Secretary Balochistan
- Panel Moderator: Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Former Member of the National Assembly
- Panelist: Nadia Saquib, Secretary, Health & Population Department, Punjab
- Panelist: Dr. Aneela Mehfooz Durrani, Secretary, Population Welfare Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Panelist: Javaid Ali Manwa, Former Member of the Provincial Assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan
- Panelist: Raja Muhammad Razzaque, Secretary (Retd) Population Welfare Dept. Govt. of AJK
General Session 8: The Ideology of Population Balance
Time: 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
- Session Chair: Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting
- Keynote Address: Allama Dr. Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi, Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology
- Panel Moderator: Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir, Senior Director, Population Council
- Panelist: Mufti Zubair Ashraf Usmani, Vice President, Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi
- Panelist: Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Member of the Shariat Appellate Bench, Supreme Court
- Panelist: Maulana Syed Muhammed Abdul Khabeer Azad, Chairman, Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
- Panelist: Adv. Humaira Masihuddin, Scholar & Legal Expert on Islamic Jurisprudence
General Session 9: Population Challenges for a Highly Urbanised Pakistan in 2050
Time: 10:35 AM – 11:05 AM
- Video Interview: Arif Hasan, Architect and Urban Planner, Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre, in conversation with Sahar Suleman (Pathfinder International)
- Ayesha Leghari Country Director in Pakistan, Population Services International in converstion with Barrister Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, Mayor Karachi & Chairman, Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation
Tea Break
Time: 11:05 AM – 11:15 AM
General Session 10: Empowering Women and Their Choices
Time: 11:20 AM – 11:50 AM
- Session Chair & Keynote Address: Umm e Laila Azhar, Chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women
- Panel Moderator: Tahera Hasan, Lawyer & CEO of Imkaan Welfare
- Panelist: Shamama Tul Amber Arbab, Former President, Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry
- Panelist: Tahira Abdullah, Development Researcher-Practitioner, Rights Defender
- Panelist: Madiha Latif, Vice President Strategic Engagement and Innovation, Pathfinder
- Panelist: Ayesha Leghari, Country Director in Pakistan, Population Services International
- Panelist: Dr. Yasmeen Sabih Qazi, Chief Executive Officer, QZ Catalyst
General Session 11: Are Information Ministries Able to Influence Pakistan’s Optimum Population Narrative?
Time: 12:20 PM – 1:05 PM
- Session Chair & Panel Moderator: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Former Minister for Information & Culture
- Video Message: Azma Zahid Bokhari, Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture
- Video Message: Sharjeel Inam Memon, Senior Minister of Sindh for Information, Transport & Mass Transit
- Panelist: Shafi Ullah Jan, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Information and Public Relations
- Panelist: Mosharraf Zaidi, Prime Minister’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media
- Panelist: Arifa Noor, Senior Journalist, Print and TV
General Session 12 A: The Intersection of Population and Climate Change
Time: 1:10 PM – 1:20 PM
Keynote Address: Mr. Musadik Masood Malik , Federal Minister, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination
Closing General Session 12: Balancing Population and Economic Growth- Reports from the Provinces
Time: 1:25 PM – 1:45 PM
- Session Chair: Dr. Ishrat Husain, Senior Advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
- Keynote Address: Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, Federal Secretary, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination
- Video Message: Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh
- Comments by: Dr. Ishrat Husain, Senior Advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
- Video Message: Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, Chief Minister of Balochistan
- Comments by: Dr. Ishrat Husain, Senior Advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
- Video Message: Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Comments by: Dr. Ishrat Husain, Senior Advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
- Closing Remarks: Dr. Ishrat Husain, Senior Advisor at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
Lunch
Time: 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prof. Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
Dr. Zeba Sathar
Senior Associate and Pakistan Country Director, Population Council
Dr. Ghulam Mohammad Arif
Former Joint Director, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
Dr. Hanid Mukhtar
Fellow, Consortium for Development Policy Research
Mr. Sam Waldock
British High Commission Development Director
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb
Minister of Finance of Pakistan
Ms. Jane Marriot, CMG OBE
British High Commissioner to Pakistan
Dr. S. Akbar Zaidi
Executive Director, IBA, Karachi
Bolormaa Amgaabazar
Country Director for Pakistan, World Bank
Dr. Ali Cheema
Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Syed Murad Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh
Azam Nazeer Tarar
Federal Minister of Law and Justice
Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra
Former Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Finance and Health
Shaista Pervaiz
Former Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Dr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar
Member of the National Assembly & Senior Deputy Convenor of the Muttahida Quami Movement- Pakistan
Dr. Nafisa Shah
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed
Former Federal Minister for Information & Culture
Dr. Rashid Amjad
Director, Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Lahore School of Economics
Dr. Luay Shabaneh
Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Pakistan
H.E. Rahmat Hindiarta Kusuma
Charge’D Affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
Raza Rabbani
Former Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi
Former Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath
Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination
Shahnaz Wazir Ali
Former Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Dr. Aneela Mahfooz Durrani
Secretary, Population Welfare Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Shakeel Qadir Khan
Chief Secreatry Balochistan
Javaid Ali Manwa
Member of the Provincial Assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan
Khawaja Imran Nazir
Minister for Health & Population Welfare, Punjab
Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho
Minister for Health & Population Welfare, Sindh
Raja Muhammad Razzaque
Former Secretary, Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Nadia Saquib
Secretary, Health & Population Department, Punjab
Dr. Qibla Ayaz
Member of the Shariat Apellate Bench, Supreme Court
Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabeer Azad
Chairman, Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
Advocate Humaira Masihuddin
Scholar & Legal Expert on Islamic Jurisprudence
Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir
Senior Director, Population Council
Allama Dr. Raghib Hussain Naeemi
Chairman, Counicl of Islamic Ideology
Ataullah Tarar
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Mufti Zubair Ashraf Usmani
Vice President, Jamia Dar ul Uloom
Senator Sherry Rehman
Member of the Senate
Arif Hasan
Architect & Planner, Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre
Barrister Murtaza Wahab
Mayor Karachi & Chairman, Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation
Sahar Suleman
Pathfinder
Umm e Laila Azhar
Chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women
Tahera Hasan
Lawyer & CEO, Imkaan Welfare
Shamama Tul Amber Arbab
Chairperson, Pakistan Stone Development Company
Madiha Latif
Vice President Strategic Engagement and Innovation, Pathfinder
Dr. Yasmeen Sabih Qazi
CEO, QZ Catalyst
Ayesha Leghari
Country Director for Pakistan, Population Services International
Tahira Abdullah
Development Researcher-Practitioner, Rights Defender
Sharjeel Memon
Senior Minister for Transport, Mass Transit and Information, Governemnt of Sindh
Azma Bukhari
Minister for Information and Culture, Punjab
Mosharraf Zaidi
Prime Minister’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media
Arifa Noor
Senior Journalist
Muhammad Sohail Afridi
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa