QUETTA: A meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI) Media Committee Thursday organized by the Population Council here.
Member of the Balochistan Legislative Assembly, journalists, intellectuals, medical professionals and civil society representatives have expressed concern over the country’s rapidly growing population.
Addressing a meeting, they said that Pakistan has become the fifth largest country in the world with a population of 221 million where the population was growing at a rapid rate of 2.4 and special steps should be taken to overcome this issue.
Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Qadir Nayal, Senior Vice President of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Saleem Shahid, Head of Gynaecology Department of Civil Sandeman Hospital Quetta, Dr. Ayesha Siddique, Population Welfare Department’s Deputy Director Planning, Abdul Sattar Shahwani, UNFF’s Dr. Zafar,
Health Department Representative’s Faiz Barich, Senior Director Program, Population Council Ali Muhammad Mir, Project Director, Seema Ali Shah, Senior Communication Officer Ikram Ehad and others participated in the meeting.
They said that due to non-provision of medical facilities, 3, 000 mothers are died in childbirth every year. If steps were not taken to control the population on an emergency basis, the country’s population will double by 2050, and the resources would shrink further, they highlighted.
The speakers said that the population of Balochistan has increased faster than other provinces and the population growth of 4.3.
Deputy Director Planning, Population Welfare Department Abdul Sattar Shahwani said that funds for the Population Welfare Department was essential to control the population.
The Federal Government had allocated Rs 500 million while Rs 20 million were released so far, he said adding the creating awareness among people was essential for preventing growing population in the areas.
MPA Qadir Nayal said “we are working for effective legislation on child marriage and human rights in the Balochistan Assembly and we are trying to expedite the work on the pending bill, ” he said.