Altaf Hamid Rao,
MIRPUR [AJK]: Under the spirit to raise awareness among the masses about their due role make a control on rapidly-increased population in the country, 3-day Population Welfare campaign begun on Wednesday across Azad Jammu Kashmir with the coordination of Radio Pakistan and all the three radio stations of Azad Kashmir Radio Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Tararkheil, official sources said.
This was revealed by District Population Welfare Officer of AJK government Kamran Hussain while talking to this Correspondent here Wednesday evening after participating in a special current affairs program at the studios of Azad Kashmir Radio Mirpur Wednesday hosted to mark the advent of the Population Welfare Drive in the country including AJK with the coordination of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation [PBC].
Kamran emphasized the need of devising a comprehensive and integrated policy by the government and masses, the major stake holders, with the coordination of all related public functionaries, NGOs and the media besides the civil society to overcome the rapidly increased population in the country.
Referring to the alarming issue of high population growth in Pakistan including AJK, the Population Welfare Officer disclosed that according to the recent report of United Nations Development Program, Pakistan has emerged as the 6th most populous country in the world with a population of 207.8 Million growing at an intercensal growth rate of 2.4% per annum between 1998-2017.
As a result of continuation of this rate Pakistan’s population will double in the next 30 years. The rapidly growing population has direct negative implications for adverse climate change, environment degradation and deforestation. Nearly, one fourth of the country’s population continues to live below the national poverty line, he added quoting the report.
Keeping in view the above alarming situation of rapid population growth, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered to launch a media campaign for family planning both for private and official media organizations.
Radio Pakistan is a public service broadcaster for the last seventy one years. ;Its our national duty to inform our audience about the importance of family planning; said Muhammad Shakeel, Station Director Azad Kashmir Radio Mirpur.
Talking to this Correspondent here Wednesday evening, Shakeel said that under the scheduled nation-wide Population Welfare drive, special three day campaign from 14 to 16 November, 2018 has been launched from the network of Radio Pakistan and all the units of Azad Kashmir Radio including Mirpur regarding Family Planning, in which following formats of programmes will be broadcast:-
Exclusive interviews of Provincial Population Welfare Ministers. (Action: PBC Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit). Impressions of members of parliament and provincial assemblies and other elected members of local bodies. Impressions of people belonging to all walks of life including religious scholars regarding benefits of small family. Exclusive interviews of District Population Officers. Short skits (All PBC Stations).Family planning slogans and Interviews / legal opinion of lawyers for making laws for family planning/ prevention of early age marriages in country to be aired by all PBC Radio Stations.