THATTA, Nov 28: Speakers at a seminar on ‘population and development’ stressed the need for a comprehensive plan to help control the rate of population growth in the Thatta district. The seminar was organized by the district population welfare department in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Assistance (UNFPA) at Makli Gymkhana on Monday.

District Nazim Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi presided over the seminar.

The district nazim said that elected representatives, media, academicians and people of other segments of the society should make coordinated efforts to help reduce population.

The nazim was of the view that the population growth would not be controlled without spreading education in the society.

Abdul Rehman Pirzado of the UNFPA acknowledged the idea of the district nazim that the best contraception was education.

He told the audience that about 97 per cent of the population was now aware of contraceptives.

Mr Pirzado told the audience that the population of Pakistan was 15.1 million till 2004.