Islamabad: The Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Saturday unanimously approved the results of the 2023 digital census, says a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The CCI meeting was held under the chair of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Adviser to the PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira and other officials also participated in the huddle.
The Ministry of Planning briefed the participants on the digital census. Moreover, the results of 2023 census were also presented during the meeting. The meeting was also briefed that Pakistan's population has reached 240.10 million.
Talking to a private news channel, after the meeting, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that it will take more than five months to hold elections on the basis of the 2023 digital census.
As per Article 51 of the Constitution, the general elections for the national and provincial assemblies will be conducted as per the limits of the constituencies published by the Commission, he added.
The law minister said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is to complete the delimitation process within an outer limit 120 days. However, it is the prerogative of the ECP as when they start the process.
The government has announced that assemblies will be dissolved on August 9, following which elections should be held within 90 days of the end of the assemblies’ tenure.