Pak to hold countrywide census next year

Pakistan today announced that its national population census would be carried out from March 15 next year to determine the exact population and number of households in the country.
The decision to hold the census was taken at the meeting of Council of Common Interest (CCI) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by all chief ministers and senior officials.
"CCI agreed to start (national) census from 15th of March 2017. It was agreed that house listing and census operation may be carried out in one go," according to a Prime Minister's Office statement.
It said the census will be held in two phases, each phase to be carried out in all the provinces simultaneously.

The CCI also agreed that census will be carried out in close coordination of provincial governments.
A committee comprising Secretary Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and four Chief Secretaries will address all the issues pertaining to implementation.
The CCI approved National Forest Policy in principle and directed the Federal Minister of Climate Change to sit with the provincial governments to ensure no encroachment on provincial powers is made.
The National Forest Policy will enable the federal government to provide technical and financial assistance to the provincial governments, in line with their own provincial policy framework and to ensure compliance of international conventions.