K-P govt forms panel to verify census figures

Examining data accuracy, the body will submit recommendations to provincial govt

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has taken a significant step to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the census results by forming a committee headed by the secretary home.

The committee’s primary purpose is to thoroughly examine and verify the census data with ground realities in the province. Upon completing its assessment, the committee will submit its recommendations to the provincial government. In case of any reservations regarding the final statistics of the census, the matter will be taken up in the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

A crucial meeting was held with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister, Muhammed Azam Khan, in the chair to discuss the Census 2023 and its implications for the province. Key officials, including Advisor to Chief Minister for Finance Himayatullah Khan and Additional Chief Secretary Zubair Asghar Qureshi, were present at the meeting.

The participants were provided with a detailed briefing on the mechanism and methodology used for the Census 2023, highlighting the use of modern technology for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

The entire K-P province was divided into more than 28,000 blocks for the census, with the final statistics set to be presented for approval in the CCI.

Chief Minister Azam Khan emphasized the crucial role of the census in future planning and the equitable distribution of national resources. He underscored the need for the final results to accurately reflect ground realities, ensuring that the people of K-P are not unjustly represented. However, concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the census data in certain regions. For instance, in the far-flung areas of the province, particularly former FATA regions, many people migrated after military operations, and there are reports that they were not included in the census count. This has resulted in the population being shown lower than the actual numbers. Additionally, there have been complaints about the improper use of computers by staff during data collection, leading to flaws in the information gathered.

To address these complaints and ensure the credibility of the census results, the K-P government formed the committee responsible for investigating these issues thoroughly.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2023.