CCI again defers announcement of population census result

ISLAMABAD – Since the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has once again deferred announcing the result of Population and Housing Census, the government members will hold meetings with members of provinces to address their reservations.

The government side after getting nod from all provinces would announce final results of 6th Population Census-2017, pending for over three years.

The provisional summary results of the last Population and Housing Census-2017 shows that Pakistan’s population has touched 207.8 million mark with an increase of 57 per cent since 1998. 

The population, in the last 36 years, grew by 146.6 per cent (since the last census-1981), and a declining trend was observed in the growth rate in the two bigger provinces Punjab and Sindh.

Both MQM-P and PPP-P have expressed strong reservations over the results of the census, demanding five percent audit of the population census. Sources said that the government side formed a parliamentary committee to address reservations of the political parties from Sindh. The parliamentary committee have not evolved any consensus so far, so the last CCI meeting could not take up agenda to announce results of population census. 

The CCI’s representatives of smaller provinces will soon ask the federal govt to summon pending meeting of CCI to take up matter related to population census.

The representatives of smaller provinces of CCI would ask the government to include pending population census matter in the upcoming Council of Common Interests [CCI] meeting.

Both the MQM-P and PPP-P had raised concerns over the result of recent population census and asked for conducting five percent audit of the population census in different parts of the country. 

These representatives of smaller provinces will soon try to include population census in the agenda of Council of Common Interests (CCI) for the final result of the 2017 population census. It may be noted here that the population results have still not formally been announced as only provisional results were shared with the media.

Political factions from Balochistan and Sindh [PPP-P, MQM-P and BNP-M] had also demanded the audit of the 6th national population census, conducted in 2017 and also submitted a petition in the court in this regard. Sources said that the provinces would submit requests in the CCI’s secretariat to include population census’s result in the upcoming CCI meeting.

 

 

 It is mandatory to call CCI under the chairmanship of prime minister within three months.

The joint census commissioner had reportedly informed that the final result of the 2017 census has been forwarded to the Council of Common Interests (CCI). The provisional summary results of the 6th Population and Housing Census-2017 shows that Pakistan’s population has touched 207.8 million mark with an increase of 57 per cent since 1998.

The population, in the last 36 years, grew by 146.6 per cent (since the last census-1981), and a declining trend was observed in the growth rate in the two bigger provinces Punjab and Sindh.

The opposition members have time and again also demanded to call CCI’s meeting to discuss Coronavirus [COVID-19], but the government side had not called meeting on this matter. 

MQM-P senior members may soon demand involvement of the Prime Minister on the matter related to their reservations on population census.

MQM-P senior members may also hold meeting with prime minister in next week on the matter related to the announcement of results in population census, said sources.  

MQM-P wants to share its input before final announcement of population census results in the meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI). The pending Council of Common Interests (CCI) may be summoned in next week, after mutually deciding agenda of the meeting.

Sources said MQM-P is unsatisfied with the parliamentary committee formed to deal with the matter related to the provisional results of population census.

This parliamentary committee held meetings with MQM-P and members of other political parties including Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) to resolve the issue. Both the parties had held expressed their reservations on the results of population census when the former government (PML-N era) announced provisional results.