Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction on the measures taken by federal government concerning ‘exponential’ population growth in the country. The three-member bench of the apex court heard the proceedings of a case on population control. “This issue is far bigger than the need of dams,” he said, adding that advertisement launched by the government was not enough to control the population and instead an Action Plan was required. Subsequently, he issued strict directives to the government for formulating the plan by January 14. “National issues cannot be curbed without controlling the rapid increase in population,” he said, adding that state’s resources have been depleting fast and the land available for agriculture has been shrinking. The attorney general informed the bench that a digital media run awareness campaign was underway, and sought more time for implementation of certain effective measures in this regard. Health secretary informed the bench that two of the provinces have already formulated population control programmes. The court adjourned the hearing until January 14. Published in Daily Times, January 4th 2019.