ISLAMABAD: The fiel­d­work for the country’s first-ever digital census has now been completed, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) annou­nced on Tuesday.

The Seventh Population and Housing Census, which commenced on March 1, concluded on May 15, after its deadline was extended five times.

An official announcement by the PBS said that a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to immediately close the field operation.

“Now, the process of verification and validation to ensure complete coverage will be completed within 15 days,” the statement added.

The meeting decided that all district officers would provide completion certificates after which payment to field staff would be made.

It also deci­d­­ed that complaints of non-coverage would be entertai­n­­ed by the PBS. Citizens can register their complaints on 0800-57574 till May 30, af­­ter providing CNIC number and requisite data.

A committee of reno­w­n­­ed demographers has been constituted to analyse the data and point out trends.Nadra and Suparco will assist the demographers by carrying out the forensic audit for rectification of under- or over-reporting.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2023