MIRPUR (AJK): (Parliament Times) The second and last round of the national census and house listing has begun in rest of five district of Azad Jammu & Kashmir from Tuesday – April 25.
According to official sources five of the AJK districts where census and house listing commenced on Tuesday included Mirpur, Rawalakot, Haveli, Jhelum Valley and Neelam valley districts.
In Mirpur district Commissioner Mirpur Division Sardar Zaffar Mahmood and Brig. Muhammad Faisal of Pakistan Army inaugurated the census and house listing drive in Mirpur district at a ceremony held outside the Deputy Commissioner House where the house-listing number was marked besides the entry of the names of the inmates of the house. The simple but impressive ceremony was attended amongst others by Deputy Commissioner Ansar Yaqoob, ADC (G) Raja Farooq Akram, Assistant Commissioner Raja Qaiser Aurangzeb, Divisional head of AJK PID Javed Mallick, officials of the AJK Census Department as well as the officers and civil and military administration. Whereas notables of the lake view city also attended the ceremony.
It was told on this occasion that 600 army personnel would be assisting the mobile teams of the Census department besides the civil administration for census and house listing in the southern district of Mirpur. Azad government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir has made adequate arrangements to complete the process of 2nd round of the national Census-2017 in rest of the AJK territory with the collaboration of Pakistan Army.
Meanwhile, talking to this scribe Commissioner Census AJK Raja Tariq Mahmood said that all requisite arrangements have been made for holding of the second round of census in rest of the five districts of Azad Jammu & Kashmir including Mirpur district.
The second phase of census and house listing will be completed on May 28, he added. First phase of the census has so far been completed, the commissioner said.
A total of 2800 mobile staff members deputed for holding the scheduled census across AJK.
In first phase of the census, at least 1900 mobile staff members comprising officials of AJK education and revenue department as well as Pakistan army visited door to door in 2022 blocks in five AJK districts.
The Commissioner Consensus said that any of the family member would be eligible to provide required information about number of their family members to the mobile census teams besides the head of the concerned family.
The Census Commissioner categorically declared that the people will have to provide absolutely correct information about the persons living under the concerned roof. In case of fake information, the concerned person or family head would have to face the penalty of the six months rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs.50 thousand, he warned.
The mobile civilian staff member of the team would be in official green shirt with the army official, he said.
The Census Commissioner further said that the concerned family head or other responsible person will also have to provide info about the expatriates belonging to the family or any registered Afghan refugee living under any local roof. However the number of the expatriates and Afghan refugees will not be included in the number of the census, he pointed out. The expatriates and registered/lawful Afghan refugees would continue stand as expatriate and Afghan refugee, he underlined.
A representative of the Census Department of Pakistan has also been deputed in each district of Azad Jammu Kashmir to supervise the process.
It may be recalled that in the first round of the national census- 2017, the census and house-listing, has so far been completed in 63 districts across Pakistan besides AJK and Gilgit Baltistan.
These 63 districts and agencies of the country included 16 districts in Punjab, eight in Sindh, seven in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seven agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 15 in Balochistan, and five each in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Mirpur, Rawalakot, Haveili, Jehlum valley and Neelam valley district amongst rest of 5 AJK district to be passed through Census and House listing process.