Shehzad Roy urges Imran Khan among others to waive taxes on contraceptives

Taking to Twitter, the singer shared that 17% of couples can’t access them due to high prices

Singer and activist Shehzad Roy was recently titled as the honourary Goodwill ambassador for population and family planning by the Ministry of Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. After thorough research, the Mukhra singer highlighted the non-availability of and lack of awareness regarding contraceptives in the country.

Taking to Twitter, Roy shared statistics to support his claim and wrote, “17 per cent couples in Pakistan want to use contraceptives but can’t access them. In this situation, tax on contraceptives will directly affect population growth.”

17% couples in Pak want to use contraceptives but cant access it. In this situation,tax on contraceptives wil directly effect population Growth. I request @IMFNews @ImranKhanPTI @shaukat_tarin to waive off tax & give strong message that, exponentially growing pop is a huge issue

— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) February 18, 2022

He further requested the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to “waive off tax and give a strong message that exponentially growing population is a huge issue.”

However, the actor faced little support and heavy backlash on his tweet by netizens. Many believed that “only basic needs should be waived off of taxes” and did not consider contraceptives part of the list. Some were even against controlling the population.

Earlier this year, when the news of Roy’s appointment as the Goodwill ambassador made headlines, actor Adnan Malik congratulated and stood in support of the singer. Taking to his Instagram stories, the Cake actor called overpopulation one of Pakistan’s "greatest existential issues".

"If Pakistan's population had been less than 100 million, it would have been a different story for us. The population explosion is at the root of so many of our issues," he posted expressing his concern over the issue.

Malik wished the Maula Vey crooner the best of luck in serving the country to the best of his abilities. "Shehzad Roy, all the best to you in this capacity," the actor said about the singer's new role. "[Population growth] is truly one of our greatest existential issues. [I] support you 100 per cent,” he concluded.

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