SC directs govt, civil society, religious scholars to tackle overpopulation

ISLAMABAD: Terming the country’s booming population a “bomb,” the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the government, civil society and religious scholars to take measures to control rapid population growth.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar announced the verdict in a suo motu case pertaining to the unchecked population growth in the country.

“The growing population is putting a strain on the country’s resources,” observed the court, stressing the need for a countrywide campaign to combat it.

The bench added that, “This is a question of future generations. The entire nation will have to work together for population planning and wage a war against the population growth.”

On Oct 14, the apex court inquired about the credibility of population surveys and said every plan will go in vain if survey statistics were not accurate.

Justice Nisar deemed overpopulation a serious problem if the government didn’t implement recommendations of the task force to control rapid population growth.

Last year, on Nov 20 the federation and provinces  decided to form task forces within their jurisdictions to control rapid population growth on orders if the apex court.

The top court said the formulated policy would then be referred to the government that would take charge after the July 25 election for its consideration and implementation.

The apex court, the same month, had constituted a committee to formulate a uniform policy to defuse the population bomb as well