ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's outgoing government is taking criticism for allegedly using the recent national census to delay elections for its own benefit, while a curious sudden reduction of the population in the southwestern province of Balochistan has sparked protests.
The Council of Common Interest (CCI), an interprovincial government body chaired by the prime minister, approved the new digital census on Monday. According to the results, the nation's population stands at 241 million, excluding Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, up from the previous count of 208 million in 2017.
