The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has demanded a firm schedule for holding of census.
The HRCP held a national consultation on census on Saturday. The participants included representatives of the federal government, political parties, civil society organisations, academicians, and experts.
Speakers and participants of the consultation spoke about the processes and the mechanisms needed for holding a fair census and emphasised on the need for holding a census as soon as possible.
Census is a very basic requirement of a modern state and for a multi-ethnic country like Pakistan, census is very important.
Political, social and economic policies, planning for development, understanding the changing demographics of the country and allocation of resources by the federal and provincial governments can only be determined properly once there is clarity about the existing population and the headcount of every household in the country.
Participants of the consultation demanded of the government to announce a firm schedule for holding the census as soon as possible.