Population census: PM tells MQM-P all stakeholders will be taken on board

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan assured Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Pakistan that all the stakeholders would be taken into confidence for the census.

A delegation of the MQM met the prime minister on Wednesday, a day after the federal cabinet decided to conduct the next population census before the general elections.

The MQM-P delegation comprised Federal Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Senator Faisal Sabzwari.

The meeting discussed the census and ongoing development projects of the federal government in Sindh.

The prime minister assured the delegation of taking on board all the stakeholders, and stated that institutions were independent.

The electronic voting machine (EVM) would bring transparency in the election process and there was a need to create awareness about that, he added.

The government and allied parties were working together for the development of Sindh especially Karachi, stated the participants of the meeting.

Later on, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFSR) Syed Fakhar Imam also met with the prime minister to update him about the expected production of four major crops and cotton.

The minister told the prime minister of the encouraging trends so far in the production of cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, and maize crops, and informed him that as on September 30, 2021, Pakistan’s cotton production was 38.5 million bales against 27 million bales during the same period last year.

In addition, the minister further informed the prime minister that the annual production of wheat, rice, sugarcane, and maize was on track to surpass 27.5 million tonnes wheat, 8.4 million tonnes rice, 81 million tonnes sugarcane, and 8.4 million tonnes maize.

The prime minister said that the Ministry of Food is committed to achieving the record export targets of 150,000 tonnes and 463,000 tonnes of mango and citrus fruits respectively.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021