KARACHI: Pakistan’s first regular census will be taken in 1951. A decision to this effect has been arrived at by the Government of Pakistan, official sources disclosed on Wednesday [March 30]. The census, to be undertaken on an all-Pakistan basis, will be conducted by a Census Commissioner. An official announcement … will be made after a selection has been made for the post.

Significance to the Government’s decision is attached in view of the fact that Pakistan is a new Dominion having undergone the biggest transmigration of population … in wake of the partition. A correct estimate of population and its distribution is also considered essential for industrial and agricultural planning, so vital to the new State. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies in London,] the future shape of the Commonwealth may be changed as a result of the Dominion Prime Ministers’ secret talks opening here on April 21. … It is generally assumed that the conference will focus on the question of India’s position in relation to the Commonwealth after she becomes an independent republic, in accordance with her declared intention.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2024