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ISLAMABAD, July 10: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that population planning and poverty alleviation are high on the government’s list of priorities.
In his message on the eve of World Population Day, the president called upon all those concerned to work with renewed vigour for population stabilization, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.
He said high population growth rate neutralized gains from economic growth and diverted savings from investments in development to immediate consumption needs of the population.
The president said: “The World Population Day on July 11 is important in reminding us about one of the most important issues — rapid population growth — confronting the developing nations in general and Pakistanis in particular.”
With reference to the World Population Day’s theme of ‘Poverty, Population and Development’, the president said: “It is generally recognized that rapid population growth exacerbates poverty, which in turn erodes the impact of socio-economic development in the society.”
Noting that Pakistan’s annual population growth rate has shown a modest decline, he reiterated the government’s resolve to alleviate poverty and control the population growth rate.
APP ADDS: Minister for Population Welfare Dr Attiya Inayatullah in her message on the occasion said the country’s annual population growth rate of 2.1 percent remained a major drag in the way of socio-economic development.
She said that the effects of such a high population growth rate had direct implications on virtually all aspects of human life, which were visible in the dismally low literacy rate, high infant and maternal mortality rates, unemployment, housing problems, energy crises and environmental degradation.
