Daily Times

Sir: The phenomenon of overpopulation is generally termed as cause de jour, because if population growth spirals out of control, it poses severe challenges of unemployment, education, health, housing, urbanisation and food security. Pakistan is confronted with a horrendous problem of overpopulation. As estimated (by July 2012) by the CIA Fact Book, Pakistan with 190,291,129 people living on its soil will be the sixth most populous country on the globe and fourth in Asia. When Pakistan became independent in 1947, its population was estimated at 32 million. Sixty-five years later, it has increased 5.6 times to 190 million. The unchecked population growth is causing a catastrophic strain on the surging economy of Pakistan. No one can deny that achieving desirable rates of population growth could be an important factor in bringing sustainability of resources and averting energy problems. The food problem and population are interconnected. The price of food commodities have gone five times up in Pakistan compared to three years ago. Family planning is necessary to improve the condition of the Pakistani people. We cannot improve the condition of the masses without limiting the size of the family. The root causes of overpopulation are: 1. Unbalanced growth rate of rural-urban migration making rural land unused and cities crowded. 2. Low governmental spending on awareness campaigns. 3. Low literacy rate as compared to other countries. 4. Paucity of funds and capital for educational development sector. China is spending 12.1 percent of its total yearly budget on education, the US 17 percent, UK 11.5 percent, Iran 17.7 percent, Canada 12.7 percent, the UAE 22.5 percent whereas education expenditure of Pakistan is 7.8 percent.

How to control the ticking bomb of the population explosion? Pakistan has to learn from the strategy of other successful countries like China, Bangladesh and Egypt. China brought down the country’s rapid population growth by encouraging the ‘one-child family’ and providing the family with free education until the age of 18. Bangladesh recorded impressive gains in slowing population growth by adopting the slogan “chhoto paribar, sukhi paribar” (small family, happy family). The religious clerics in Bangladesh informed people about the significance of family planning in their sermons, and distributed contraceptives and literature to spread awareness about the importance of family planning and safe sex. Egypt controlled its burgeoning population through the fatwas (edicts) issued from various centres of Islamic learning endorsing family planning. Egypt has registered a swift decline in its population growth rate. The populations of 47 European nations are on a downward slide from 728 million this year to 653 million in 2050. This is probably due to well thought through policies marked by importance attached to small families. We have to overcome the problem on a war footing as a moderate population guarantees our national development. Pakistan should adopt a holistic approach on it, i.e. on the one hand, the ulema play a motivating role and change the social attitudes of the people to gender equality and family size; on the other side, the government will have to improve awareness campaigns coupled with contraceptive delivery
services in the country.

MUHAMMAD ASLAM KHOKHAR

Lahore