By Moaaz Manzoor

The Islamabad administration has stepped up its household survey under the directions of the prime minister to strengthen public security and maintain an accurate resident record, reports Wealth Pakistan. According to an official document, a team of 120 personnel from the Federal Directorate of Education, Islamabad, and the ICT administration has been mobilized for phase 1 to conduct the field operation in an organized, transparent, and professional manner.

The survey targets approximately 91,000 households, while also opening a digital self-enumeration option for residents through a mobile application. The exercise is being conducted in the urban sectors and designated residential areas through door-to-door visits to collect updated data. The survey has also moved beyond physical fieldwork.

The document states that alongside the door-to-door exercise, the ICT administration, in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), has launched the ICT Household Survey application, which is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app allows residents of Islamabad to voluntarily submit their household information online alongside the physical survey.

Progress figures cited in the document suggest that a substantial portion of the first phase has already been completed. It says 80,262 door-to-door surveys have been conducted, while 4,370 self-enumeration submissions have been registered, taking the total number of completed surveys to 84,632. Figures indicate that the administration is relying on both field visits and digital submissions to build coverage.

The document says all collected information will be handled confidentially and stored on the NADRA servers, with no accessibility to any other department. That element is likely to be central to the exercise, given the scale of data collection involved and the range of residents it covers. According to the document, the survey intends to collect updated information on all individuals living in Islamabad, including homeowners, tenants, foreign nationals, particularly Afghan residents, as well as domestic servants and household workers.

The purpose is to ensure proper verification, identification, and monitoring of residents and to help prevent misuse of residential properties and unauthorized occupancy. The data will support the law enforcement agencies and administrative authorities in improving public security, enhancing residence verification systems, identifying illegal or unregistered settlements, and assisting future planning for municipal services.

The exercise also aims to strengthen community safety through more accurate record-keeping and coordinated response mechanisms. With phase 1 targeting approximately 91,000 households and the survey now proceeding through both door-to-door visits and app-based submissions, the initiative appears to be shaping into a wider effort to update the residential record of the federal capital through centralized data collection.

Credit: INP-WealthPk