- Minister directs PBS to include ‘disabled’ column in Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement questionnaire
ISLAMABAD: Planning and Statistics Division Minister Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiar has underlined the need for devising a strategy for automation of data collection in order to have authentic economic statistics for better policymaking.
The minister, who also holds the additional portfolio of Statistics Division, was chairing the 16th meeting of the governing council of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) at Islamabad on Tuesday. Statistics Division Secretary Shaista Sohail, governing council members and senior officials of the ministry were also present on the occasion.
The minister emphasised that PBS should devise a mechanism to deliver more reliable official figures with regard to economy, population, agriculture, trade and other areas. He called for including a ‘disabled’ column in Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) questionnaire to help government devise a policy for the betterment of the handicapped people.
During the meeting, various agenda items came under discussion. Noting that the last meeting of the governing council was held in April last year, the minister directed to convene meeting initially every month and later quarterly in order to clear all the backlog and ensure smooth and efficient functioning of the organisation.
The minister directed the bureau to expedite the process of appointing chief statistician and fill the vacant posts of three members. He said that remaining vacant posts of the bureau should not be filled automatically rather their need assessment be carried out first before proceeding further in the matter.
During the meeting, the statistics secretary briefed the minister about the work done by the bureau since its last meeting, including holding of 6th Population and Housing Census-2017 and completion of the 11th round of PSLM. The secretary also gave a briefing on major initiatives presently being undertaken by PBS.
