Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday suggested that provinces should set up separate ministries to control the growing population.
In her speech at the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Population Council, she said the National Emergency Plan will be given soon to address the growing population issue.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had called a meeting of the National Task Force next week, she said adding that provinces had representation in the task force.
“This year, the population of the world has reached 8 billion and that of Pakistan has reached 23 million,” said the minister.
Pakistan’s population, she said, had increased from 30 million to 230 million in 75 years, and by 2030, the population of Pakistan was expected to be 263 million and in 2050, it is expected to reach the figure of 338 million.
In terms of population, she said, Pakistan had become the fifth-largest country in the world. The minister said that population growth was as alarming as the destruction caused by climate change. She said Pakistan’s population was growing at a rate of 2 percent per year.
“When the population increases, problems like education, health, and public services also arise,” she maintained.
After the Eighteenth Amendment, issues like education, health, and public services were the responsibility of the provinces, Maryam Aurangzeb said. To deal with these problems, the issue of increasing population had to be dealt with, the information minister remarked.
She said there was a need to create a national narrative on these issues of national importance and all stakeholders should be involved in the formulation of the narrative. –APP
