Ghani praises Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for deciding to hold digital census

Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani has said that the forthcoming digital census drive to be carried out in the country will go a long way in promoting harmony among the provinces.

He stated this on Saturday while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a training programme for the enumerators of the upcoming digital census drive at the Government Adamjee Science College.

He praised the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for deciding to conduct a digital census in the country.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party and other political parties had raised objections to the results of the 2017 census drive and expressed the hope that such reservations would not surface again after the digital census.

The government would be in a better position to do effective planning if it had better data on the population of the country, Ghani said, adding that the upcoming digital census would accurately count the population of Karachi and the rest of Sindh.

He said the census count served as the basis of development of any country. He added that objections were raised to the results of the past census drives conducted in the country.

He urged the teachers being trained as enumerators to conduct the census drive considering it as their national duty. He informed the under-training enumerators that the accurate census count not only paved the way for the development of the province and the rest of the country, but also the distribution of resources and allocation of seats in the assemblies were based on the census results.

He assured the audience that the government would do its best to ensure that no objection was raised to the results of the upcoming digital census.

Ghani maintained that more than any other political party, the PPP in the country had raised objections to the results of the 2017 census in the country. He remarked that a fresh census drive should be conducted in the country after every 10 years. He also stated that the forthcoming census would not create any effect on the upcoming local government elections in Karachi.

A day earlier on Friday, Ghani held a press conference in which he announced a march in the city today (Sunday) from the Bilawal House to Star Gate to show the political strength of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

He said the PPP was serious about contesting the local government elections in Karachi and the next mayor of the city would be an activist of the PPP. He told the media that the party had fielded its candidates to contest the local government elections in Karachi on January 15 in all areas of the city except for just two union committees (UCs).

He maintained that the march to be held by the PPP on Sunday would be attended by its candidates, activists and supporters in large numbers in order demonstrate mass popularity of the party in the city.