Pakistan's Religious Minorities Say They Were Undercounted in Census

WASHINGTON - Religious minorities in Pakistan claim the country's long-delayed census, released by the government in May, appears to have undercounted them.

Although the sixth Population and Housing Census was completed in 2017, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics published the data on May 19. The previous census had been conducted in 1998. The 2017 census began under former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who hailed from Punjab, Pakistan's most prosperous province. However, its results were delayed after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan, and Sindh provinces complained that that their populations were undercounted. On April 12, the Council of Common Interests (CCI), a constitutional body that resolves power-sharing disputes between the federal government and the provinces, met under Prime Minister Imran Khan and approved release of the most recent data.