Govt announces four-month delay in the seventh census due to economic.
The Census decision was made during a meeting of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday, which was presided over by Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal.
The timing of the declaration, which comes amid the ongoing PTI “Azadi March” calling for hasty elections to remove the country’s uncertainty, would undoubtedly send shockwaves across the political spectrum.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Planning, Iqbal asked the PBS to present a new report to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the Prime Minister’s Office, along with a new timeframe for the 7th Digital Census 2022.
The government has set the new dates for the 7th housing and population census as February 1 to March 4, 2023. Previously, the field surveys were scheduled from October 15 to November 15.
The statement came after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf put pressure on the government and establishment to accede to its demand for hasty elections. Its workers stopped major highways and roads on Monday, causing major issues for ordinary commuters, many of whom have nothing to do with the PTI and PML politics. N’s
The minister was updated on the status of the population census, and the PBS head informed him that an earlier summary was presented following an agreement with NADRA for the conduct of the census from October 15, 2022, to November 15, 2022.
“However, due to the delay in the opening of Letters of Credit as a result of the current economic circumstances, NADRA is unable to issue tablets,” the planning ministry said. Due to the dwindling position of foreign exchange reserves, the central bank has imposed limits on the opening of letters of credit.
According to the Planning Ministry
The timetables have been changed, and fieldwork will now take place from February 1, 2023, to March 4, 2023. The results of the post-enumeration survey would be handed over to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by April 30, 2023, for delimitation reasons.
The ECP would need at least three to four months to demarcate constituencies, which will overlap with the conclusion of the National Assembly’s five-year constitutional term in August next year.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s last cabinet agreed to hold the next general elections on the basis of a fresh census after Sindh expressed severe objections about the previous census findings and grudgingly accepted them.
Last Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet backed the previous government’s decision and authorised an Rs5 billion budget for the census.
Census Software Solutions
According to the government, the entire 126,000 tablets for holding the census digitally would be given out in instalments by December 2022 and census ERP (total software solutions) by October 15, 2022, for testing.
According to the planning ministry, due to the sensitivity of the topic, the PBS altered the training of master trainers and training of trainers at the divisional level in November and December 2022.
However, because training at the tehsil level for 120,000 field employees and fieldwork cannot begin before the entire transfer of tablets, the ministry has decided to perform programmes in parallel.
Iqbal expressed worry over the extension of the deadline for the population census and requested that the PBS notify the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the Prime Minister’s Office as soon as possible owing to the sensitivity of the subject. He further stated that any additional delay is unacceptable because the next elections would be based on the results of the Census.
According to the Planning Ministry
Due to the sensitivity of the topic, PBS altered the training of master trainers and training of trainers at the divisional level in November and December 2022.
However, because training at the tehsil level for 120,000 field employees and fieldwork cannot begin before the entire transfer of tablets, the ministry has decided to perform programmes in parallel.
Iqbal expressed worry over the extension of the deadline for the population census and requested that the PBS notify the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the Prime Minister’s Office as soon as possible owing to the sensitivity of the subject. He further stated that any additional delay is unacceptable because the next elections would be based on the results of the Census.
The minister further instructed PBS to guarantee the calibre of instruction at the Tehsil level. Since credible and trustworthy statistics depend on excellent training.
He suggested including HEC and academics in the monitoring of training at the Tehsil level. He believed that a neutral third party should conduct the assessment.
The PBS head further informed the Minister that NADRA had already delivered 22,000 tables for the census, which have been toughened and are now prepared for dispatch, and that the remaining tables will be delivered shortly. He informed the test that 21,600 more tablets will arrive at the PBS this week and would shortly begin the hardening process.
Further information revealed that the master trainers’ training will begin on November 28 and go through December 10, 2022. The process of self-enumeration will begin on January 15th, 2023.
The Minister gave the order to move the process along quickly and firmly follow the new deadlines while bearing in mind how sensitive the subject is.
