PIP: In the 1950s Pakistan had a population program, but lack of political commitment prevented curbing of population growth so that the population grew at least 3.1% annually. 1969 was the last time the government committed itself to a population program. In July 1991, the Prime Minister began a population policy which recommitted the government to slowing population growth. Indeed, the Prime Minister's party campaigned to reduce population growth. The Prime Minister elevated the post of Adviser to the Prime Minister for Population Welfare to cabinet rank. This adviser has visited all parts of the country to build support for the government's population policy. The government plans to use a multisectoral, multidimensional accelerated program to implement the policy in which all sectors promote the small family norm. The program also plans to provide family planning services through several existing services, e.g., maternal and child health services. It also includes research and surveys to provide baseline data to evaluate the program's impact. In the past political leaders believed religious groups would react negatively to any strong promotion of a population policy, but today, they recognize that the people want to use family planning and, if the religious leaders object, the people will reject them. Besides, many Islamic scholars note that it is not anti-Islamic to practice family planning. Many people believed a high illiteracy rate of 60% was an obstacle to a successful population program in the past, but recent studies show that the people know about family planning but do not have access to family planning services. Further, it reveals that 60% of married women do not want any more children or want to space their births, yet just 20% have family planning access. The new program plans to increase coverage in rural areas by 20% by mid 1992. Top program managers claim that an inefficient and sometimes corrupt system of government will not pose obstacles to reduction of population growth this time.