2016 Census: Balochistan seeks adequate presence in statistics bureau

Assembly unanimously approves resolution

QUETTA: Members of the Balochistan Assembly on Monday demanded that the Federal government ensure adequate representation of Balochistan in the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics formed for conducting the 2016 National Census.

With Speaker Raheela Khan Durrani presiding, a resolution was unanimously approved by the assembly on the adequate representation of Balochistan in the governing and functional structure of the bureau.

Presenting the resolution in the house, ruling party member Nasrullah Khan Zayray said that in light of the Council of Common Interests’ March 18, 2015 decision, a new census in the country is expected this year for which 145 billion rupees would be collected from the province.

He said that house listing was carried out in the said department in 2011 but no adequate representation was given to the provinces and no recruitments were made from the provincial quota, therefore, the federal government should ensure adequate representation of provinces in the institution. The house unanimously approved the resolution.

Custody of Children’s hospital

Nasrullah Zayray presented a second resolution regarding the Children’s Hospital in Quetta which stated that the hospital was an autonomous body which was run in collaboration with the German government from its establishment in 1998 till 2003 and later on, it was legally registered by the government of Balochistan.

However the custody of the hospital had not passed to the government as yet and it had drifted into loss resulting in the increase of fees overburdening the poor people of the province. The resolution called on the government to take the hospital in its custody, so that it could benefit the masses.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2016.