ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom­mu­nication Syed Aminul Haque on Wednesday said that digital census is set to be completed by the end of March and general elections will not be possible before October.

Addressing a conference titled “Internet Governance & Internet Resources Share for Pakistan”, he said the digital census — set to be launched from March 1 — would continue till the month’s end and delimitation of constituencies would begin only after that.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan would need at least four months to carry out the delimitations.

“It is quite clear that general elections in the country are not possible before October 2023,” the minister said.

At the event organised by the Number Resource Society, Mr Haque warned that if PTI Chairman Imran Khan crossed the red line for his political goals, the country and the nation would suffer.

Noting that instability was on the rise, he said, “The political unrest is leading the country to an economic crisis [and] as a political party, MQM-Pakistan wants stability in the country”.

The IT minister acknowledged the problems being faced by the telecom sector due to delay in opening of letters of credit.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023