ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday approved the establishment of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) with an aim to produce authentic, timely and transparent data compatible with the needs of economy and socio-economic development.

The PBS will be an independent and autonomous organization, and the three existing organizations -– the Agriculture Census Organization, the Population Census Organization and the Federal Bureau of Statistics — will be merged to create the new organization.

The chief statistical officer (CSO) will be the head of the board of the organization. The members of the board will be appointed for a particular tenure through open competition from private and public sectors.

Presiding a restructuring meeting of the statistic division, the prime minister said that production of reliable, authentic, timely and transparent statistical data compatible with the needs of economic and socio-economic development was the requirement of the nation.

He said the establishment of the PBS would ensure that collection and release of independent and accurate statistical data remained transparent and facilitated sound decision-making.

A law will be drafted and will be placed before the National Assembly for legislation. The plan will be submitted to the cabinet for approval and restructuring will be completed by the end of June 2006.