PESH AWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunlchwa Assembly unanimously passed a resolution asking the federal government to give equal representation to all provinces and Fata in the governing council and functional members of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.The resolution tabled by Qaumi Watan Party MPA Meraj Hamayun also asked the government to appoint a qualified senior serving officer as the chief census commissioner in the province.

According to the resolution, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) in its meeting on March 18, 2015 had decided to conduct countrywide census in March 2016.

The exercise will cost Rs145 billion to be borne by the provinces.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had chaired the CCI meeting.

The resolution said the merger of the Federal Census Department and Agriculture Census Department had led to the creation of the Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics, which carried out housing census across the countryin 2011.

An amount of Rs3 billion was spent on the housing census but it didn`t achieve the desired results.

The CCI had also decided that the house listing conducted in April-May 2011 might be discarded.

The resolution held the census secretary, sitting chief statistician, director general (census) and member of national accounts and census commissioner responsible for the failure of housing census.

It said the retired officers were being appointed, while provinces had no representation in the governing council of thePakistan Bureau ofStatistics.

The resolution mover said the quota of provinces had not been Exed and therefore, provinces did not trust the process.

She said KP, Balochistan, Sindh and Fata had not been given representation in the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics` governing council and functional members.

The resolution mover said the federal government should give equal representation to all federating units and Fata in these forums to restore the trust of the provinces in the forum.

The CCI had decided that census might be conductedin one go,ñrstthree daysfor house listing operation and the later 15 days for main count.