Former senators belonging to opposition political parties on Tuesday fell short to appreciate the Prime Minister's emphasis on managing poverty and population growth. The meeting of Senate Forum for Policy Research (SFPR), which met here with ex-senator Col Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (retd), deliberated upon population planning and the political system in the country. Mashhadi directed that members must study World Bank's report, 'Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future,' which had painted a grim picture about where Pakistan would be when it completed a century if it didn't mend its ways. He also told the members to submit written recommendations within 20 days to the committee. He said it was the responsibility of parliamentarians to ensure that the democratic system in Pakistan was not compromised. He said a seminar must be conducted on a very high level so that senior politicians could share their wisdom with the younger generation. That would help stop blotting of the parliamentary process, he added.

While discussing the issue of population planning, Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini was of the view that saving lives was more important than population control. He said that as mentioned by population experts in a meeting previously, the concept of Universal Health Coverage presented by the World Health Organisation (WHO) was important and must be pursued on both provincial and national levels.

Former Senator Afrasiab Khattak was of the view that the Council of Common Interests and the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) must play their roles in promoting population control in Pakistan.

Another ex-Senator Ilyas Bilour opined that it would be beneficial if Pakistan learned from the example of its neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh and Indonesia. Senator Nisar Muhammad Khan was of the view that it was imperative that the forum focuses on the issues that stem from population growth.

Ex-Senator Sehar Kamran said there was a strong need that Pakistan transitions to a welfare state, adding the tendency of distribution of amenities and assets on the basis of population size must be curbed.

The meeting was attended by ex-senators including Nisar Muhammad, Afrasiab Khattak, Mir Naseer Mengal, Sehar Kamran and Ilyas Ahmed Bilour, and Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019