October census to cover Fata, Swat

PESHAWAR: The countrywide census due to commence from October will also be held in militancy-plagued Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Swat, Chief Census Commissioner Khizar Hayat Khan said here Saturday.

“I don’t think Taliban or anybody else would hinder the (census) process as it is meant for the betterment of the respective areas,” Khizar Hayat Khan said while presiding over a meeting held to review arrangements for the general census to be held later this year.

Regarding the census, the chief commissioner said it was a hectic job and while initial report could appear in around two months, the entire process might continue for two years before it is completed.

Briefing the meeting, Census Commissioner Muhammad Saddique said mapping of the entire country except South Waziristan Agency has been completed while housing census would be conducted in April. He said a total of 170,000 field staff, including enumerators and supervisors, would be tasked to carry out the census across the country, tribal and Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir. Of them, 3,800 enumerators and 375 supervisors would be deputed for Fata alone.

The census commissioner said that field staff would mainly be drawn from the provincial/local government employees such as teachers, revenue office staff and employees from other departments. “The staff will complete the process in the areas to which they belong as they will be well accepted by the community having no communication problems,” he said. “The respondents, too, will feel free in giving information pertaining to their families to the local enumerators.”

For the tribal areas, Muhammad Saddique said the director local government was being appointed as census coordinator for Fata, who would also work as focal person for census matters. Besides, an agency level census committee to be headed by the political agent of the respective tribal agency was also being formed.