Pak defers census exercise due to lack of security personnel

Pakistan today postponed the census exercise as authorities failed to mobilise enough troops to provide security to the teams involved in the house-to-house survey.
The 28th meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took the decision to postpone the sixth census.
According to a statement, the meeting discussed in detail the issue of conducting census in Pakistan. Secretary Statistics Division Shahid Hussain Asad apprised the meeting about preparations made for conducting consensus in the country.
It was informed that the country has been divided into 166,819 blocks for which staff of 210,239 is required.

"The meeting was told that since the Armed Forces of Pakistan are engaged in the ongoing military operation Zerb-e-Azb, deployment of required Army personnel in March/April for conducting the census throughout the country on same day was not possible," the statement said.
"The council tasked the concerned to consult the Armed Forces of Pakistan for availability of the required human resource and propose a new date for census," it added.
The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers from four provinces and other senior officials. The CCI is a constitutional body and its meetings are held to discuss the key issues related to the country.

The first census in Pakistan was conducted in 1951, the second in 1961 and the third in 1972. The fourth census was held in March 1981 and the fifth, which was due in 1991, was conducted in March 1998 with the help of the Army.