RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has approved the deployment of up to 200,000 troops for 6th national population census, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The ISPR statement on Friday said that the troops will be deployed while continuing other security responsibilities.
The often delayed national population census will yield statistics about internal migration, urbanization, as well as rural and urban population across the country. The population data will be used for delimitation of the constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies, a requirement under the constitution.
Population Census Organization, in collaboration with staff from the provincial governments held first four census in time in the years 1951, 1961, 1972 and 1981respectively.
The 5th census was due in 1991 and the House Listing Operation carried out in 1990 showed abnormal population growth in some parts of the country, which not be justified by normal demographic indicators.
Consequently, the government decided to postpone the 1991 census. Another effort was made in 1994, which could not mature due to pressure by from political and ethnic groups.
It was decided that the 1998 census would be held with the support of the armed forces, which was broadly accepted by all political parties and appreciated internally.
The sixth Population and Housing Census was due in 2008, but could not materialize due to the law and order situation in the country, a paucity of staff and financial constraints.
