Census back in sight as GHQ assures more troops

Finance minister asks PBS officials to go back to drawing board

ISLAMABAD:

Two days before a scheduled meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the military has assured the government it will review the number of troops it can commit for monitoring population census, rekindling hopes the much-awaited headcount could begin with a slight delay.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took up the matter with the military brass at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Saturday, officials told The Express Tribune. Later in the day, the minister called officials of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), which is responsible for holding census, asking them to go back to the drawing board.



“The minister directed the PBS to chalk out a revised action plan for holding the census, incorporating the changes discussed in the meeting, in consultation with other stakeholders,” said a handout issued by the finance ministry after the meeting.

Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa, who has lately come under pressure for not thinking out of the box, would now meet the director general military operations (DGMO), said officials. Dar asked him to consult the military brass in light of his GHQ meeting.

The holding of census is on top of the agenda of the CCI which is meeting on Monday after a hiatus of almost a year. CCI’s last meeting was held in March, last year. The CCI – the highest constitutional body on matters jointly controlled by the Centre and the provinces – had authorised the federal government to start the census from March 2016.

The GHQ has committed 100,000 troops, which is about one-fourth of the initial requirements pitched by the PBS to monitor and supervise the census and maintain law and order during the exercise.

Officials said the military authorities have now assured that they would consider increasing the figure. However, the number will be still far less than 375,000 initially demanded by the PBS.

The officials said that despite fresh commitments, it would be difficult to start the census in March. If the military significantly increases the figure, chances are that the exercise could begin in April, they added. However, a final decision about the exact timing would be taken after the meeting between the chief census commissioner and the DGMO, which is also scheduled for Saturday evening.

The finance minister directed that after his GHQ meeting, an updated action plan be prepared by Sunday evening, so that it could be shared with the members of the CCI for consideration in its upcoming meeting.  Dar said it was the government’s resolve to hold the census in a befitting manner while ensuring its credibility and transparency, and all efforts would be made to achieve this objective.



A PBS official said the revised plan would be prepared on the principle of man-to-man monitoring – every enumerator to be accompanied by a military man. He said each enumerator would be responsible for two to three blocks, depending on the ground conditions.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2016.