First phase of sixth census to begin on March 15
Army to provide security during exercise
Islamabad: Pakistan will hold a population and housing census in two phases, starting from March 15, with the army providing security cover for the much-delayed head count.
All administrative and security arrangements have been made for the census, the sixth in the country’s 70-year history. The last census was held in 1998.
At a joint news conference here on Sunday along with Director General Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor and Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa, the Minister of State for Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb, said the stage is set for the nationwide exercise.
The first phase, starting on Wednesday, will conclude on April 15 and after a 10 -day gap the second will start from April 25 and conclude on May 25. An amount of Rs18.5 billion (Dh648 million) has been allocated for the census.
Aurangzeb said that 1, 18,918 trained enumerators will perform the duty during the census, assisted by personnel of Pakistan army.
She said the door-to-door house listing and population count will also cover transgender people for the first time.
After May 25, provisional lists will be published including number of men and women in the rural and urban populations.
Ghafoor said that 200,000 personnel of Pakistan Army will assist the census process, one solider to be deputed with each numerator to ensure smooth and transparent counting and for provision of foolproof security.
The minister of state said a comprehensive awareness campaign has been carried out to educate the masses about the importance and procedure of the census.
Answering a question, she said incorrect information will carry a six-month prison sentence and Rs50,000 fine.
The first census in Pakistan was conducted after independence in 1951 and followed up in 1961, 1972, 1981 and 1998. The country’s present population is roughly estimated at 191.71 million.
