ISLAMABAD: The government has extended the field operation of 7th population and housing census till April 20 in big cities, according to a press release by the Census Monitoring Committee.

The decision was made on recommendations from the provinces and the committee would ensure complete coverage of all structures and households.

The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, reviewed the progress of the first-ever digital census, especially after the extension, and other related matters.

Chief Census Commissioner Dr. Naeemuz Zafar presented a report on the progress of the census operation, noting that 100% work had been completed in 122 districts out of 156, and over 90% work had been completed in the remaining districts.

Overall, 230 million populations had been enumerated, and 40 million households geo-tagged. The committee was informed that verification work was also in progress, and teams of officers from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Headquarters were facilitating district and assistant commissioners in big cities like Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, and Peshawar to ensure complete coverage of all structures and households.

The extension had proved successful, enumerating an additional 5 million people in 80,000 households.

Minister Ahsan Iqbal appreciated the efforts to detect the causes of undercount and improve the population count, especially after the extension. He monitored the progress of all the provinces and asked them to indicate if further extension was required. The operation must be concluded with mutual consensus and that no controversy should be left behind.