Army chief sanctions 200,000 troops for 6th census

RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has approved deployment of up to 200,000 troops for the sixth population census, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday.

The troops will be deployed while continuing other security responsibilities. The often delayed population census will yield statistics about internal migration, urbanisation as well as rural and urban population across the country. 

The data will be used for delimitation of national and provincial assemblies'  constituencies — a requirement under the Constitution.

The Population Census Organization in collaboration with the provincial governments held the first four censuses o time in 1951 1961 1972 and 1981 espectively.

The 5th census was due in 1991 and the House Listing Operation carried out in 1990 showed an abnormal population growth in some parts of the country which could not be justified by normal demographic indicators.

Consequently, the government decided to postpone the 1991 census.  Another effort was made in 1994 which could not mature due to pressure from political and ethnic groups.

It was decided that the 1998 census would be held with the support of the armed forces which was broadly accepted by all political parties and appreciated internally.

The sixth population and housing census was due in 2008 but could not materialize due to the law and order situation in the country, shortage of staff and financial constraints.