TOBA TEK SINGH - A seminar was held here on Tuesday to celebrate World Population Day which was organised by the District Population Welfare Department in collaboration with Marie Stopes Society. The seminar held at District Council Hall was chaired by Haroon Rasheed, Tehsil Administrator Toba Tek Singh. EDO-Health Dr Aslam Hameed, EDO-Education Malik Munawar Hussain and Marie Stopes Society District Program Officer Tariq Rasheed were also among prominent guests who attended the seminar. The heads of the district departments and representatives from various provincial departments also attended the seminar. It is to be noted that the seminar was part of the week-long celebrations of planned in connection with World Population Day. The objective of the seminar was to create awareness about overpopulation as a national issue that has hampered the national growth and human development. The seminar started with the welcome address delivered by Muhammad Atif Ali, District Population Welfare Officer. He shared with the participants that overpopulation is a national issue and it should not be overlooked merely as an issue of the poor. He informed the participants that the theme of this years World Population Day is World at 7 Billion. He stressed that the government policies and planning should be based on demographic realities. He said that the national issues such as inflation, unemployment, environmental degradation, food and water shortage, energy dearth and law and order are directly linked with overpopulation. EDO-Health Dr Aslam Hameed and EDO-Education Malik Munawar Hussain also shared their vision with the participants and said that the Health, Education and Population departments should walk side by side by complimenting each other. District Program Officer Tariq Rasheed also spoke about overpopulation and its hazards. He also shared the services of Marie Stopes Society in the district. Tehsil Administrator Haroon Rasheed, in his address emphasized on the need that Health, Population, NGOs and civil society together should work on population planning as a team.