Concept Note

Water, Education, Economy and Population (WEEP) are fundamental pillars that exert profound and interconnected impacts on the well-being and security of a nation. These critical elements permeate every facet of society, ultimately shaping the overall security landscape. In order to ensure the robustness of a state’s security, it is imperative to continuously monitor and address the various dimensions of these domains.

Context

Inadequacies or challenges within any of these domains can significantly compromise a nation’s security. Regrettably, Pakistan faces acute challenges across these critical sectors, warranting a comprehensive and focused approach to address them effectively. While the National Security Policy of 2022 has underscored the importance of human security within a ‘citizen-centric’ framework, the translation of policy into actionable initiatives in the areas of water management, education reform, economic development, and population management continues to face substantial implementation gaps, mirroring challenges observed in other government responsibilities.

Series Objective

The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, recognises the urgency of addressing these pressing issues and their interconnectedness. To foster a more informed and constructive discourse, CASS is planning to organise a series of seminars, each dedicated to exploring one of these critical domains in depth. These seminars aim to facilitate a nuanced understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and policy imperatives in each area, fostering dialogue and knowledge exchange among key stakeholders, policymakers, and academic experts.

Inaugural Seminar

The inaugural seminar of this series was dedicated to an in-depth exploration of Pakistan’s population dynamics, a pivotal issue with far-reaching implications for the nation’s socioeconomic landscape. Since gaining independence in 1947, Pakistan has experienced remarkable population growth, progressing from 32 million to an estimated 250 million people this year. This unprecedented eightfold increase within 76 years underscores the urgency of addressing population-related challenges. Projections suggest that, with current fertility rates, Pakistan could reach 400 million by 2050. However, rigorous family planning efforts could potentially limit this figure to 266 million, while a moderate approach may still result in 342 million inhabitants. In the face of such rapid population growth, alongside urbanisation trends and the challenges stemming from inaccurate census data, effective planning becomes a critical concern. It is disheartening that the same stakeholders tasked with policymaking and implementation have contributed to inadequate policies.

The seminar delved into the multifaceted dimensions of population growth and its ramifications. Pakistan’s trajectory from the brink of food self-sufficiency in the early 1980s to today’s food security concerns is emblematic of the profound consequences of demographic changes on various sectors.

The seminar encompassed the following broad themes:

• Population Dynamics and Socioeconomic Impacts: A rigorous examination of the demographic trends and their multifaceted impacts on Pakistan’s socioeconomic landscape.
• Gender and Population Dynamics: An exploration of the unique challenges and opportunities that women encounter in the context of Pakistan’s growing population.

Press Release

Media Coverage

News Coverage

Newspaper Links

Pakistan’s stagnant fertility rate a matter of concern: experts – DAWN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s total fertility rate (TFR), which has alarmingly remained stagnant at 3.6pc since 2005, has become a matter of concern for policymakers.

Confronting Pakistan’s Population Growth: Urgent Need for Reform – Centreline

ISLAMABAD: The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, successfully concluded a seminar on ’Mitigating Pakistan’s

Confronting Pakistan’s population growth and the urgent need for reform – The Gulf Observer

Islamabad, The Gulf Observer: CASS Islamabad, successfully concluded a seminar on ’Mitigating Pakistan’s Population Challenges.

Confronting Pakistan’s Population Growth and the Urgent Need for Reform | theteampk

The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, successfully concluded a seminar on ‘Mitigating Pakistan’s Population Challenges.’

Confronting Pakistan’s Population Growth: Urgent Need for Reform – Islamabad Post

ISLAMABAD: The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, successfully concluded a seminar on ’Mitigating Pakistan’s

سینٹر فار ایرو سپیس اینڈ سیکیورٹی سٹڈیز کا بڑھتی آبادی اور اس سے منسلک چیلنجز پر قابو پانے کے موضوع پر سیمینار- کیپیٹل پوسٹ

سینٹر فار ایروسپیس اینڈ سکیورٹی اسٹڈیز اسلام آبادپریس ریلیز09 اکتوبر 2023: سینٹر فار ایرو سپیس اینڈ سیکیورٹی سٹڈیز (CASS) اسلام‌آباد نے پاکستان کی بڑھتی آبادی اور اس سے منسلک چیلنجز پر قابو پانے کے موضوع پر ایک سیمینار کا اہتمام کیا۔ معزز مقررین میں

CASS, Islamabad, successfully concludes seminar on ‘Mitigating Pakistan’s Population Challenges’ -SABAH

CASS, Islamabad, successfully concludes seminar on ‘Mitigating Pakistan’s Population Challenges’

Speakers for urgent reforms to tackle population growth – Daily Times

The Speakers at a seminar on the country’s population growth on Monday called for urgent reforms to tackle the mounting challenge of population growth of the country showing a steady rise since independence. The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), successfully concluded a seminar on ’Mit…

Speakers For Urgent Reforms To Tackle Pakistan’s Population Growth – UrduPoint

The Speakers at a seminar on the countrys population growth on Monday called for urgent reforms to tackle the mounting challenge of population growth of the country showing a steady rise since independence

Speakers for urgent reforms to tackle Pakistan’s population growth – APP

ISLAMABAD, Oct 09 (APP):The Speakers at a seminar on the country’s population growth on Monday called for urgent reforms to tackle the mounting challenge of