PBS governing council: Senate committee may ask government for reshuffle
Move considered after Sindh authorities raised objections.
Pakistan Senate. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
A parliamentary panel may advise the federal government to replace three incumbent members of the governing council of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) who have Sindh domiciles but were not recommended by the province’s government.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Statistics on Thursday dropped the hint that it could ask the federal government to reshuffle the council and a functional body of the PBS after Sindh raised objections over the bureau, which is also responsible for holding the census.
The committee took up a Pakistan Peoples Party-backed resolution that Senator Sassui Palijo had moved in the Senate, seeking representation of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Fata in the PBS governing council.
The details that the federal government shared with the panel affirmed that not only the council, but also the functional body of the PBS was heavily dominated by Punjab.
PBS chief statistician Asif Bajwa, who is also serving as the chief census commissioner, informed the committee that Dr Ishrat Husain, Dr Asad Zaman and Dr Zeba Sathar represent Sindh on the PBS governing council.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar heads the nine-member council that currently has one member each from Punjab, K-P and Balochistan. However, Dar, the Statistics Division secretary and the chief statistician also belong to Punjab.
Members from K-P and Balochistan were appointed on January 19 this year and before that, both the provinces did not have representation, the officials admitted before the committee.
“Sindh domicile is not sufficient to appoint people on the governing council, as the provincial government did not recommend their names,” said Senator Palijo. She had serious objections over the names of the three Sindh members who have the province’s domicile. Senator Palijo said these people were not representing Sindh and people like Fazalullah Qureshi and Noorul Haq Larak should replace them.
“The Sindh government does not know whether the PBS governing council is a dummy body or works professionally,” she said.
But Bajwa said the General Statistics Reorganisation Act of 2011 does not bind the federal government to observe provincial and regional quotas in PBS governing council.
The governing council came under scrutiny when PBS was set to hold the census. However, the CCI earlier this month postponed the exercise due to non-availability of troops. Statistics Secretary Shahid Hussain Asad told the committee that a new date would be announced in consultation with the provinces and the army.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.
A parliamentary panel may advise the federal government to replace three incumbent members of the governing council of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) who have Sindh domiciles but were not recommended by the province’s government.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Statistics on Thursday dropped the hint that it could ask the federal government to reshuffle the council and a functional body of the PBS after Sindh raised objections over the bureau, which is also responsible for holding the census.
The committee took up a Pakistan Peoples Party-backed resolution that Senator Sassui Palijo had moved in the Senate, seeking representation of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Fata in the PBS governing council.
The details that the federal government shared with the panel affirmed that not only the council, but also the functional body of the PBS was heavily dominated by Punjab.
PBS chief statistician Asif Bajwa, who is also serving as the chief census commissioner, informed the committee that Dr Ishrat Husain, Dr Asad Zaman and Dr Zeba Sathar represent Sindh on the PBS governing council.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar heads the nine-member council that currently has one member each from Punjab, K-P and Balochistan. However, Dar, the Statistics Division secretary and the chief statistician also belong to Punjab.
Members from K-P and Balochistan were appointed on January 19 this year and before that, both the provinces did not have representation, the officials admitted before the committee.
“Sindh domicile is not sufficient to appoint people on the governing council, as the provincial government did not recommend their names,” said Senator Palijo. She had serious objections over the names of the three Sindh members who have the province’s domicile. Senator Palijo said these people were not representing Sindh and people like Fazalullah Qureshi and Noorul Haq Larak should replace them.
“The Sindh government does not know whether the PBS governing council is a dummy body or works professionally,” she said.
But Bajwa said the General Statistics Reorganisation Act of 2011 does not bind the federal government to observe provincial and regional quotas in PBS governing council.
The governing council came under scrutiny when PBS was set to hold the census. However, the CCI earlier this month postponed the exercise due to non-availability of troops. Statistics Secretary Shahid Hussain Asad told the committee that a new date would be announced in consultation with the provinces and the army.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2016.