Govt extends census date for fifth time

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) announced Friday that it had extended the date of the ongoing seventh population census yet again.

The process was originally scheduled to be completed by April 4. However, as the counting process remained sluggish, it was first extended to April 10 and then April 15, 20 and 30.

The PBS said the deadline for the enumeration has now been extended for another 15 days to May 15. 

Separately, PBS officials briefed leaders of political parties on the ongoing census — which is being conducted digitally for the first time — including the process and the figures obtained so far.

Talking to the media after the briefing, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said his ministry wanted to ensure the census was conducted in a way that was "acceptable to all".

He added that some political parties raised objections to the census and added that progress in this regard was shared with them.

"The enumeration process in urban areas has been slow," he acknowledged. "Similarly, counting could not be done in remote areas. Some areas saw an unusual increase in population."

It has been decided to speed up the counting process, the minister shared.

Jamaat-e-Islami's (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who addressed the media alongside Iqbal, said he had apprised the PBS of his concerns.

"Half of Karachi's population has not been counted. We have asked the [PBS] to identify where populations have been under or overcounted."

Addressing Rehman's concerns, the minister clarified that the PBS was not prejudiced against any area, city or province. We should not link the NFC (National Finance Commission) — a constitutional body mandated to give an award for distribution of federal tax revenues — to a province's population, he said.

Iqbal further said that the authorities had the room to complete the census by October or November.

PBS has been executing the ongoing census digitally for the first time in the country's history, with census field operations commencing on March 1 without any interruption.

However, the government body has been extending its deadline for completing the census work to ensure proper execution of the remaining count and ensure 100% coverage.

However, political parties, including the JI and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have raised objections to the census, especially Karachi, whose population they claim has been undercounted.

A multi-party conference (MPC) convened by the Pakistan Peoples Party — a key ruling party — resolved not to accept the results of the ongoing 7th digital census in the country if the reservations of Sindh were not addressed by the federal authorities.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently directed the planning and development minister to address the reservations of the MQM-P — a key ally of the federal government — after reports surfaced that the party had asked its lawmakers to hand in their resignations.