INTERVENTION Imran Munawar I Christian Study Centre PAKISTAN AGENDA ITEM # 2: Legal framework and key concepts Key Words: Research and Data, census surveys, demographic, socioeconomic, quantitative and qualitative data, education, employment, health, proportional representation, religious and belief diversity Thank you Madame Chair. My name is lmran Munawar. I am representing Christian Study Centre, an ecumenical institute based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is in correlation to draft recommendations 45 thru 48 that I would like to base my intervention on census or population count of the people of Pakistan. According to the UN, Pakistan is among the top most populous countries in the world, with a population growth rate of about 2.01 It is important that the government of Pakistan undertakes a fair and accurate census to determine the status of its population. The last census that took place Ni Pakistan was in 1998 and showed that 96.28% of the population belonged to the religion of Islam while Non-Muslims constituted 3.7' ier cent of the total population.2 Minority communities expressed concerns ovi the statistics provided and highlighted the inaccuracy of the numbers. They have persistently maintained that the system of undertaking the census is at least inconsistent and contains potential fault lines that results in denial of their rights, which begins with an under-estimate of their numbers. Part of the problem is the irregularity of the census, technical lapses and delayed availability of the statistics. There are several factors to be taken into account for understanding the dynamics of population growth in any community and for devising remedial measures. 2 Pakistan Economic Survey 2012 - 13 http://www.mincrityrights.ors/5615/pakistanipakistan-overview.html