KARACHI:A teacher was robbed of official equipment, including tablet, jacket, cap and card, while he was on his way back home from census duty in Malir area of Karachi on Monday.

 

“I was on my way back home from census duty, carrying the tablet, jacket, and card in a bag,” the teacher said in his complaint. “Two suspects riding a motorcycle snatched the bag from me and sped away,” he added. The police registered a case and launched investigation.

 

Pakistan has launched its first-ever digital population and housing census on Wednesday in an effort to securely gather demographic data on every individual ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections.

 

The digital count will provide data for policy decisions, which now are based on the 2017 census that counted the population at 207 million people. It’s also meant to beef up security and avoid another morass like the one that beset the 2021 census. The results of that count, which was done manually, were never announced over complaints about errors and exclusion.