PM Imran Khan speaks at the symposium. — DawnNewsTV
"The democratic governments unfortunately only used to think about five years," he said, adding that nothing could be accomplished in that time span for major issues.
"We are in these problems because of a short-term thinking," Prime Minister Khan regretted.
The premier recalled the family planning campaigns shown on television in the 1960s, saying those were very "effective".
He said that people were under the impression that (formerly) East Pakistan had been a burden on the country's population, but today Bangladesh had gotten ahead of Pakistan because of their long-term thinking.
"As the population continues to grow, our food security will be affected," he cautioned.
Prime Minister Khan thanked the CJP for raising the matter of population growth which he called a very "serious issue".
He said the government has formed task forces to address population growth, adding that he was glad that all provincial chief ministers were on board for the initiative.
Khan noted that the delivery system of contraceptives in the country was an issue but what was actually needed was an ambition to resolve the problem.
"There is a big role for the ulema," he said, citing examples of Iran and Bangladesh where population control campaigns were done from mosques. The premier said Pakistan too needed to involve its mosques in the campaign.
'Singularity of narrative'
The event is being attended by provincial chief ministers, judges of the Supreme Court, ministers and other officials including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider.
Former senator Javed Jabbar, while addressing the symposium, acknowledged former president Ayub Khan's contribution, noting that while he may not have been a democratically elected leader, credit should be given to him for highlighting family planning.
"Why have we forgotten the narrative [in the last fifty years]?" he asked. "There needs to be a singularity of narrative."
Renowned religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil observed that the problem in Pakistan was "illiteracy" and stressed the importance of education to bring population growth under control.
He noted that while the symposium was being held in Islamabad, the problem is more prevalent in rural areas.
Vice-president of the Population Council, John Bongaarts, the first speaker of the event, highlighted the levels of contraceptives used in Pakistan as compared to other countries in the region such as Bangladesh and India.
Furthermore, he presented the benefits of family planning programmes, adding that this was an extremely important event for Pakistan.
Co-chair of the World Health Organisation High-Level Independent Commission on Non-communicable diseases, Dr Sania Nishtar, while addressing the symposium, said "today is a landmark day" and remarked that the "stellar show of strength" of various stakeholders was "critical" to the cause.
A documentary on population dynamics was presented at the event.