ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on the States and Frontier Regions (Safron) on Wednesday directed the government to devise such a mechanism for census which could give a true picture of demography in the country.

Chairman committee Senator Hilalur Rehman said military operation and security issues had rendered a large number of residents of Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) internally displaced persons (IDPs) because of the.

“Because of unavailability of the resources and job opportunities, a large number of residents of Fata have been shifted in different cities of Pakistan and earning bread and butter for their families,” he said.

“In the absence of higher educational institutions in Fata, students get admissions in universities and colleges of different provinces due to which they remain absent from their native area most of the time,” he said.

He said that it should be ensured that the people of the Fata are not missed during census.

The committee showed concerns that the public representatives from Fata and both houses of the Parliament were not taken on board while making decisions regarding Fata and development work.

Members asked a number of questions from the government and sought a detailed reply.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2017