Choosing a Census Figure and Correcting a Briefing Note
You are drafting a one-page background note on Pakistan for a delegation arriving tomorrow at 0900. The draft prepared by a senior clerk reads: “Pakistan has a population of 207.7 million. It has four provinces, and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are also provinces. The 2023 digital census recorded 241.5 million people. Punjab is the largest province, with about 127.7 million people.” There are no source notes. You have three documents: the 2017 census report, the 2023 digital census summary published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and a 2024 newspaper article that says “over 240 million”. The office rule is that every number in an external note must carry its source and year, and no claim may be retained if it cannot be traced to an official document. The note must stay under 120 words. The senior clerk says the older figure is “safer” because it has been used for years.
1. Which population figure should go into the note, and how should it be labelled? Explain why the other figure should not be used as the headline.
Read the worked answer
Use the 2023 digital census figure, approximately 241.5 million, labelled: “Population: 241.5 million (2023 Digital Census, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics).” The exact published count is 241.49 million, so the note may say “about 241.5 million” if the word limit requires it. The 2017 figure of 207.7 million is not “wrong”; it is the correct count for 2017. It is unsuitable as the headline because it is six years older and understates the current population by roughly 34 million. Averaging the two figures is worse: it would produce a number that matches no census. The senior clerk’s “safer” argument confuses familiarity with accuracy. If the note needs historical context, it can add one short clause: “up from 207.7 million in 2017,” but the current figure must lead.
2. The draft calls Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir provinces. Identify the problem and rewrite the sentence accurately.
Read the worked answer
The problem is a factual and legal error. Pakistan has four provinces - Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are not provinces; they are separately administered territories/regions with their own legislative and administrative arrangements. Calling them provinces would misstate the constitutional position and could invite a challenge from the delegation. A safe rewrite is: “Pakistan has four provinces - Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan - plus the separately administered territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” This keeps the note accurate without entering into a longer constitutional discussion that the 120-word limit cannot accommodate.
3. Decide whether the 2024 newspaper article may be cited as the source for the population figure. Give the reasoning and the wording you would use if the delegation asks for a source.
Read the worked answer
The newspaper article should not be cited as the source. It is a secondary report, it gives only “over 240 million,” and it does not state its own source or the census table. The office rule requires an official, traceable document, and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics summary meets that test. If the delegation asks for a source, say: “The figure is from the 2023 Digital Census summary published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics; the newspaper report was only a secondary reference and was not used for the number.” If the article is mentioned at all, it should be attributed and dated, not presented as the authority. The note should carry the source in a footer or bracket so that the claim can be checked after the meeting.