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Advisory committee says it has completed questionnaire for 2022 census and forwarded it to Council of Common Interests for approval
The Government of Pakistan has completed the questionnaire for the next census and forwarded a summary for final approval to the Council of Common Interests (CCI), Planning Minister Asad Umar was informed on Friday.
“The Census 2022 questionnaire has been finalized by the [advisory] committee and the summary for CCI for approval of the execution of the census along with the work plan has been sent,” read a statement issued after the third progress meeting on the 7th Population and Housing Census 2022. Chaired by Umar, the meeting was given a detailed briefing on plans for the census, it added.
“It was informed that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics is strictly following the timelines and so far [is] on track to provide the data in December 2022 for provision to the Election Commission for delimitation process for general elections 2023,” it said, adding that the federal cabinet had already approved the recommendations of the census advisory committee.
Due to the massive nature of the endeavor, read the press release, the PBS is collaborating with various organizations—the National Telecommunication Council; NADRA; SUPARCO; National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation—to secure their services for speedy completion of all census activities. “Detailed consultative meetings [were] held with all stakeholders and all major preparatory activities will be completed by end of March 2022,” it said, adding that the process to advertise for the services of an advertising firm to produce a public awareness campaign had also been prepped.
According to the statement, minister Umar directed the PBS to start sharing all its activities related to the census with all stakeholders, stressing that the provincial governments must be taken onboard and seminars organized in all provincial headquarters to raise awareness.
He emphasized that quality of services, along with fixed timeliness, must be considered before finalizing any potential partners for the exercise. He also directed PBS officials to monitor all activities and compile them with professionally created charts to ensure timely completion of the census.
Umar also appreciated the work already completed by the PBS, and reiterated that all timelines must be rigorously maintained.
The government has already announced that it would seek the help of the armed forces to ensure foolproof security for the 7th census. Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, earlier this month, said it would be conducted on a de-jure basis instead of a de-facto basis, with all citizens counted wherever they had been residing for the past six months. The census would also be conducted digitally, and the government has estimated that it would need to procure 100,000 tablets for this purpose.