No country can make progress with rapid population increase: minister

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Population Welfare Col (R) Hashim Dogar said if increase in population was not controlled then the population of Pakistan would increase from 22 crore to 45 crore during the next 30 years. At present the population of Punjab is 11 crore which will increase upto 22 to 25 crore during next 25 years. He said the Punjab government was going to bring a bill in the assembly to increase the marriage age of a girl from 16 years to 18 years.

He was addressing second International Students’ Convention and Expo 2019. The minister said the world population was growing rapidly and it was feared that it would convert into a bomb soon. He said Pakistan was a developing country and if its population continued to increase at the current increase rate, it would be difficult for us to fulfill the needs of a large population.

He said Pakistan was the second largest country of South Asia after Afghanistan and 64 per cent of its population comprised of youth. He stressed no country could make progress with rapid population increase and population control should be top most priority of the government.