DNA
ISLAMABAD
Parliamentary Leader of PPP in the Senate, Senator TajHaider has said that if the faulty methodology used in Census 2017 was repeated once again in the Post Enumeration Survey (PES) of 5% selected blocks by the same organization that had carried out Census 2017, the results shall once again be controversial.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Senator TajHaider said that the de-jure method used in Census 2017 had registered migrants in their provinces of origin and not in the provinces of their present residence. It had also missed the illegal residents who were a great burden on the provinces in which they were residing.
The internationally accepted de-facto method which records residents at their present place of residence was the only method to record the population correctly and this method should be used in the Post Enumeration Survey of the 5 % selected blocks.
He called for the use of internationally recognized templates for enumeration that record the data and transmit it on line to the controlling offices. These returnable templates were supplied by UN Population Fund free of cost. The data should also be sent on line to provincial governments to maintain transparency of the survey.
Senator TajHaider demanded the formation of a mutually agreed ‘Census Commission’ comprising of recognized demographers to supervise and undertake the Post Enumeration Survey. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) should only provide logistics and administrative services to the agreed Census Commission.
PBS after colossal waste of over 4 billion in the House count of 2011 and around 18 billion in the controversial Census 2017 was continuously trying to justify its faulty methodology and controversial count and only a Commission of recognized and mutually agreed demographers could earn the trust of the people.
The way forward was not at all difficult if internationally recognized methods were used by recognized demographers.
These easy to follow methods also saved considerable time and resources while ensuring transparency.
Senator TajHaider regretted that the Government was continuously ignoring these justified demands and had launched a campaign to defame the PPP whose brave 50 year long sacrifices for Democracy and Constitution were part of History and could never be even imagined by these champions of lip service.
