ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved to release results of controversial census held in 2017 and decided to conduct a fresh population census across the country.
During a press conference after the meeting that was attended by all the four chief ministers and relevant federal ministers on Monday, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that the 2017 census had left several questions.
Asad Umar further said questions are being raised on this issue does not bode well for national unity, there should be a consensus on the issue of the census. The minister said a majority of the provinces have agreed to accept the results of Census 2017 and officially publish them.
Asad Umar said that it has been decided to hold the next census immediately instead of delaying it any further, adding that the new census framework will be finalized within the next six to eight weeks.
“Technology is used for census all over the world, we must utilize the best way possible to conduct a census,” he added. The minister said that the CCI had also decided by a majority vote to release the census results while the new survey would be started this year.
During the meeting, the Chief Ministers of Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa voted in favor of the census while the Chief Minister of Sindh voted against it. The new census will begin in September or October and will be completed by March 2023.
It is worth mentioning here that the 44th meeting of the CCI had taken place on April 5 in which different provinces expressed their opinions regarding the release of the Census-2017 data, after which the council had decided to convene a virtual meeting today to make a final decision in this regard.
