It only took a few technological glitches, security concerns and missing finances to taint an incredibly feel-good yet extremely rare stride–the first-ever digitalisation of Pakistan’s population and housing census. That neighbouring Iran had already conducted a successful exercise might have encouraged us to embrace technological revolution, but alas, success does not come easy in Pakistan. The raging political insurgency has made the uproar in Karachi over flaws in the headcount exercise all the more worrying. Announcing protest calls here and waving resignation letters there, MQM-P (a key government ally) is in no mood to let the so-called deliberate manipulation slide as its leaders fear for the future of an overwhelming eight million people that still remain uncounted. Since Pakistan is well on its way to entering the election season, their reservations also carry political connotations: keeping the population number low would seal the deal against urban Sindhis, who would once again fail to secure chief ministership, despite changing ground realities. Scepticism about accuracy and the nefarious underlying agendas would continue to turn several shades darker with every passing day. Nevertheless, this is not just a campaigning buzzword as the provincial government of Sindh has repeatedly expressed exasperation due to undercounted population. That millions of migrants continue to consume its resources while contributing to the allocation of funds for their ancestral provinces is a major bone of contention. However, the coalition government can only be advised to not repeat the mistakes of the days gone by and invite the aggrieved parties to the deliberation table. Given the extremely expensive and lengthy nature of the exercise, it would be purely fallacious to let a handful of controversies tear down a significant milestone. Pakistan is already too late in the game. If these issues are not resolved right away, it should be prepared to either throw the baby out with the bathwater or kick the polls further down the road. *