ISLAMABAD: All administrative and security arrangements have been made for the 6th population and housing census starting from March 15th.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor, Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa, and State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, said the census will be conducted in two phases and will be completed on May 25th.
The first phase will start from March 15th and conclude on April 15th.
The second phase will start from April 25th and conclude on May 25th. Aurangzeb said that Rs 18.5 billion has been allocated for the census and 118,918 enumerators will perform their duty during the census assisted by the army personnel.
She affirmed that all the enumerators are government employees and have been fully trained.
She further affirmed that during the door-to-door house listing and population count the, profiling of transgender and disabled people will be included.
After May 25th, provisional lists will be published, including the number of males and females and the rural and urban population.
She further said that the total number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan would be revised and delimitations across the country would be made in light of the new figures.
Major General Asif Ghafoor said 200,000 army personnel would assist the census process.
One solider will be deputed with each enumerator to ensure smooth and transparent counting and provide necessary security.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has made arrangements to obtain the required data relating to internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat.
“There are approximately 168,000 blocks, and there will be a soldier accompanying every civilian enumerator on that level,” he stated.
Soldiers will go to each house, fill in their own forms, then once the data has been provided, the soldier – who will have a link to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) – will be able to get NADRA verification of the data immediately.
The army has created a support plan for the census according to which the military has three tasks, Ghafoor said. “That the census is smooth, transparent and that security and law and order are maintained.”
The army will make security arrangements for the retrieval of filled forms, he added.
With help from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, master trainers in various cities have trained more trainers under them at the division level, so “each soldier is well-trained to undertake this task,” Ghafoor said.
