ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting on Saturday “unanimously” approved the 2023 census, a private TV channel reported.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the CCI to decide the fate of the 2023 census amid reports of division among the coalition partners over the matter.
The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, according to sources.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Adviser to the PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira and other officials also participated in the huddle.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Planning briefed the participants on the digital census. Moreover, the results of 2023 census were also presented during the CCI meeting.
The meeting was also briefed that Pakistan’s population has reached 240.10 million.
The insiders said the CCI huddle unanimously approved the latest digital census despite the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, had publicly expressed reservations over it.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also reportedly informed the federal government that it had completed all the formalities.
The general elections are likely to be delayed by a couple of months as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need additional time to conduct the delimitation exercise afresh.
Under the law, if a new census is notified, the ECP is bound to hold elections on the basis of new data.
It is important to note that the ruling coalition has agreed to dissolve the National Assembly prematurely on August 9 — three days before its term ends — giving the electoral body 90 days to conduct polls.
