ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said that the decision of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to hold census this year would be a big milestone in national history.
Addressing a workshop on “ Science Community and Pakistan’s Challenges of Health and Nutrition in the Context of Sustainable Goals,” she said that the census was delayed for past 17 years, but the present government had taken the bold initiative and it would contribute significantly to national development as credible and authentic data will help in better planning and implementation of policies.
Marriyum Aurangzeb stressed the need for exploiting the full potential of Science and Technology for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in different fields.
She said that the regional countries including Pakistan were facing problems in the achievement of development goals but now Pakistan had satisfactorily started its journey towards the achievement of these goals.
She said that Vision 2015 of the government of Pakistan also spells out guidelines to a focused and robust development for people of Pakistan.
The Minister of State further elaborated that engagement of parliamentarians is crucial in achieving development goals of Pakistan at the grassroots level.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said Ministry of Planning and Development has formed units on SDGs which are playing a vital role to achieve these goals and the credit goes to Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.
She said provinces are also in the process of formulating such units.
Marriyum Aurangzeb further said that there was a need to create awareness among the masses over the issue of SDGs and for sustainable development.
The Minister said that the targets set regarding the implementation of development goals can only be achieved through democratic dispensation as Parliament has the key role of oversight, monitoring and evaluation.
The Minister said that during past three years record projects in the health and education sector had been launched as the Prime Minister believed in sustainable development in the country and in his speech in the United Nations General Assembly he also mentioned that peace was imperative for achieving the goal of education for all.
She said that Parliament of Pakistan is the first parliament to have SDGs parliamentary task force secretariat that provided assistance to the parliamentarians on social and economic development related research, legislation representation of people of Pakistan.
The minister said that media has to play a crucial role in the achievement of sustainable development goals and parliamentary reporters were being trained for this purpose at PIPS.
She said that special programme on SDGs has been launched on Radio Pakistan and a similar programme would soon go on air on PTV to raise awareness and education of people.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said that provincial assemblies and the MPAs have to play important role in ensuring the implementation of SDGs at grassroots levels as without their active participation these goals cannot be achieved. The Minister said that there was a need to create awareness on the issue at university and college level as youth are our strength and future of the nation.
Speaking about the census, she said it is another milestone achieved by present government as it is critical to have data for evidence-based policy and legislation.
The Prime Minister’s vision for SDGs implementation in Pakistan is going to be realised through local government, members of parliament and provincial assembly, which is unprecedented in the country’s history.
The Minister said the Parliament of Pakistan has taken lead in oversight, evidence-based legislation and representation by the parliamentarians under the leadership of Speaker National Assembly.
For the achievement of SDGs all the sectors need to be integrated so that they achieve these goals in a harmonious manner; implementing multi-sectoral policies simultaneously is need of the hour for which the present government is fully committed, she concluded.
