AJK marks World Population Day with call for family planning and women's empowerment

MIRPUR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jul, 2026) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), along with the rest of the world, observed World Population Day on Saturday with walks, seminars and awareness campaigns highlighting the need for responsible family planning, maternal and child health, and women's empowerment to promote sustainable development.

Events organized across all 10 districts under the auspices of the AJK Population Welfare Department reaffirmed the government's commitment to addressing the challenges posed by rapid population growth. Secretary Population Welfare Raja Muhammad Razaq Khan led the central observance, where participants stressed the importance of ensuring access to family planning services and improving healthcare for mothers and children to build healthier families and communities.

Addressing awareness walks and seminars, speakers described family planning as a fundamental right and emphasized the need to make contraceptive services accessible to all segments of society.

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They underscored the importance of educating and empowering women, improving reproductive healthcare and maintaining a balance between population growth and available resources to ensure long-term social and economic prosperity.

Observed annually on July 11 under the United Nations framework, World Population Day seeks to raise awareness of global population issues and promote sustainable development. Speakers noted that this year's observance renewed the commitment to the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, calling for collective efforts by governments, institutions and civil society to advance reproductive health, gender equality and informed family planning.

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