ISLAMABAD - Non-availability of fundamental rights and equal opportunities compel masses to migrate. We can get our people back without wasting any time by changing lifestyle and providing equal health, educational and job opportunities to them and improving basic infrastructure in far-flung areas, said Ejaz Shafi Gillani, Chairman Gallup, Pakistan.
Addressing a roundtable discussion on “Immigration and Development” at Iqra University, Islamabad Campus he said skilled manpower played a vital role in development of a country. ‘We have rich resources and skilled manpower in villages, towns and cities. Our population has reached around 180 million which is higher than countries like UK and France. But unfortunately due to rupee depreciation, inflation has gone beyond the limit. Masses are unable to meet their expenses. This compels most of people to migrate from villages to cities and even abroad to fulfill their basic needs. Resultantly the cities have become overcrowded which badly affected the infrastructure of urban areas’.
He was of the view that, “We can get our people back without wasting any time by changing lifestyle and providing equal health, educational and job opportunities to them and improving basic infrastructure in far-flung areas”.  By 2012 we have grown to be over 180 million and here we have to maintain liability, he added. He aroused the question that how could we run with liability? We can meet our liability by using our population. If we give opportunities to our population then our population will never even bother to think about migrating, he said. He stressed that now is the time to know that our population is our asset. If we have our citizens with us then we can get everything that we need or after which we are running.
He said that medical facilities, entertainment, sport complexes and cultural centres should be promoted to improve and use our talent. We need growth of cities; by trading centres’ finance, land development, private housing and the building of urban infrastructures, he said adding It’s shame for us that our young an old citizens are working on jobs just to live their lives. Is the rapid growth of population, threat, challenge or opportunity, a question raised by, Dr Nousheen Mehmood while explaining the reasons behind instant immigration to urban areas.
Dr Sabiha Syed, an eminent demographer who has served a long career as an academic as well as Pakistani and international civil servant presided over the round table conference. Earlier Dr Islam dean and director of Iqra University welcomed the guests and deliver welcome note.