THIS is apropos your most timely and educative editorial ‘No sign of census’ (Sept 19). It is obligatory to hold census after every 10 years, but during the last 16 years no census was held.

This is one of the reasons why the country does not have any authentic basic data. According to some, the population is 180m, others suggest 200m.

In the intervening period, urbanisation, for a variety of reasons, has increased. For example, it is not clear whether Karachi’s population is 15m or 20m.

The issue of holding fresh census is reportedly pending with the Council of Common Interest, which is presided over by the prime minister. The council must tap all resources to do the needful.

M. Nazir Ali

Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014