ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: Ministry of Population Welfare is working on a project to involve religious leaders in reducing population growth rate which currently stands at 1.9 per cent.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Population Welfare Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain while speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday. Mr Hussain said just after Ramazan, the ministry had planned to launch an upbeat campaign under which religious leaders in the countryside would be involved to convince people to follow family planning programmes. The prime minister is also concerned over the population growth rate of the country, he added.

He said religious leaders at village and town level had a definite following and they could effectively play an important role in letting people know about the importance of family planning at household and national level.

Mr Hussain said the government would also send teams to villages and towns to convince people in general about family planning. Initially, the government has planned to organize workshops, seminars and meetings with religious leaders for their sensitization on the population issue, he added.

"Only after creating a national level consensus among the religious community with representation from all sects, the government believes the said campaign will be successful."

In his remarks, he also referred to Bangladesh where religious class was at the forefront on the family planning issue, leading to successful control over the growth rate.

Though people of upper and middle class do understand the importance of family planning, however, masses belonging to lower income groups are least bothered and contributing to rapid increase in population of the country, he said.

At present, country's population stands at 151 million and will be doubled in the next 34 years if the present growth rate is not wrested, the minister said. Mr Hussain also stressed the accountability of provincial governments and checks and balances as 85 per cent of ministry's funds were provided to the provinces.

The minister expressed his dissatisfaction at the role of non-governmental organizations in the field of family planning. "We are not happy with the NGOs because they have been unable to produce satisfactory results as far as family planning programmes are concerned. We will also review how their role can be streamlined in this sector," he said.

The federal minister informed the newsmen that the government was also involving folk singers and other celebrities to make the campaign more effective and attractive. Answering a question, the minister said the NWFP government was fully cooperating with the federal government in this regard.