Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar remarked on Monday that public awareness as well as relevant legislation is required in order to control the “population bomb”.

He made the remarks as the Supreme Court resumed hearing a suo motu case related to population growth in the country.

As the hearing went under way, the attorney general (AG) informed the court that population control was assigned to the provinces after the 18th Amendment.

The AG added that one province has reservations over forming of a ‘national policy’ on the matter. The chief justice then remarked that the court can resolve the differences between the provinces.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar then wondered how people are surviving in interior Sindh, adding whether the provincial government ever realised this.

Highlighting how important the case is for the country, the CJP stated that the growing population is resulting in a shortage of resources and housing.

Talking about the role of women in population control, CJP Nisar remarked that women are used as a tool, adding that they are not provided with adequate birth control measures.

In a society of men, women cannot even protest, he lamented further.

CJP Nisar observed that without stemming population growth, the country’s development plans cannot succeed, adding that provinces need to follow a policy made at the federal level.

During the hearing, Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal observed that merely distributing pamphlets about the issue is not enough as people have to be made to understand the core of the matter and given an incentive.

Noting that there are people who believe curbing population growth is against Islam, Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal remarked that the religion gives a very special place to family.

“We need to give women a high status and safeguard their role,” he added.

The CJP remarked that if a policy is made today then its results will be witnessed five years from now, adding that he dreads to see the day when there won’t be anything left to eat due to over-population.

During the hearing, Pakistan People’s Party leader and former social welfare minister Shahnaz Wazir Ali informed the court that one of the reasons for population growth is the low marriage age in the country.

Shahnaz Wazir Ali suggested that the legal age for girls to marry should be 18 years, adding that the Sindh government has made a policy on population control.

As per provisional results the 2017 census, Pakistan’s population, barring that of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, stands at nearly 208 million.

Published in Daily Times, July 31^st 2018.