Pakistan has signed a declaration, pledging to work with China and other regional countries to control population growth. Pakistan's Minister for Social Welfare Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain signed the declaration at the World Family Summit that was held in Sanya in China's Hainan province, an official statement said. The declaration noted that the families worldwide are facing major challenges of illiteracy, gender inequality, large maternal and infant mortality rate and the HIV/AIDS pandemic and cultural diversity. It called for greater cooperation among the regional countries to deal with the matter more effectively. Chairing a special session of the summit, Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain said Pakistan has already brought down the annual population growth rate to 1.9 per cent and hoped to maintain it at a reasonable level. He said Pakistan was fulfilling all the international commitments to check population growth. "We are also engaged in promoting sustainable development of the family through various programmes," he added.
