In todays complex world, suitable population is no doubt a very vital ingredient for the progress of the country. Naturally, there is always an unending war between resources and their consumption, which would ultimately decide the economic strength of a country. Pakistan with a gigantic population size of 175 million qualifies to be the sixth most populous country of the world, while at the time of inception it was just 40 million. There are several factors which contributed to this enormous increase in the population, with lack of awareness, being the prime one. According to the UN Population Division, Pakistans population is estimated to touch 300 million making it fifth largest nation by 2050. We are currently having a growth rate of 2.2% which means an addition of 3.5 million annually. The culture of birth control cannot develop in a society where half of its population remains illiterate. It is hardly possible to make people realize that they are not only creating a problem for themselves but also for the generations to come. The preference of a male birth over the female one also contributes a lot to the gravity of the situation. We have often seen people having four to five daughters waiting for their so-called WARIS to come. Our self-created religious values prevent us from having a reasonable family, though many of the religious scholars have made it abundantly clear that having a smaller family is no way in contradiction to the teachings of Islam. Islamic scholars from all around the world have voiced their concerns over the so-called linkage between birth control and our religious values. It has also been observed that even the educated families are not aware of the hazards of such a large population. Curriculum Wing of the Ministry of Education should at least add a lesson or two to describe the disadvantages and depicting the future scenario. There should also be an active media campaign to highlight the importance of the birth-control so that our rural population, which is mostly illiterate, could be convinced of it. Lady Health Visitors can also play a significant role in educating women and provide them with proper technical guidance. LHVs can socially be very helpful as they have got a direct access to the women. The Government should take renowned Ulemas on board, who can be very effective in this regard. Finally, I would like to say that it should be our goal to give a better future to our next generation, which is only possible when we are economically stable and for this purpose we all must spread this message, that by having a reasonable size of population we would certainly have an international standard of living. KASHIF ALI RAJPER, Islamabad, April 8.