In a letter recently written to all Chief Secretaries, Dr. Naeem uz Zafar said Using this letter and the quote below that “By virtue of the digital census, it is possible to detect irregularities in the census data collection, either due to under-enumeration or over-enumeration due to biases or lax behavior. It is of utmost importance that data should be collected in an accurate and transparent manner.” He also requested Chief Secretaries to direct “all DCs/ACs to ensure full coverage by dedicated efforts and vigilant monitoring of the whole process in the field to ensure that data is collected in a transparent and unbiased way.”
The transparency, accuracy, and credibility of the census are paramount for the future of the people and country. Over the past several months, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has been identifying abnormalities and anomalies in the census data as received from provincial teams and regularly urging them to verify and rectify the discrepancies.
They have shared the same in the Census Monitoring Committees as well and based on the committee’s recommendations extended field operations times six times. Yet, over-and-under enumeration continues to be an issue and seems intentionally done for political gains.
It seems that political parties and leaders are using press conferences and media statements questioning the census process to hide data manipulation to misrepresent and threaten to reject the census in case results are not as they want them.
The digitization process has not only ensured timeliness but also allowed for the identification of abnormalities in real-time, hence revealing any misconduct.
It is hoped that political interests are put aside and no more issues arise and all abnormalities and anomalies are verified and rectified in this time granted for the purpose.
