Minister hints at November this year or next March for exercise. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: The government again evaded to give an exact date for the much-awaited population census in the upper house of parliament on Tuesday.
“We are putting in place relevant arrangements for holding population census in November this year. If that is not possible, this exercise will be carried out in March next year,” Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid told the Senate.
He was responding to a call-attention notice over the delay in this regard that was moved by Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum.
“Undeniably, population census is an important and inescapable constitutional requirement. We need to make large-scale arrangements to carry out an exercise of such magnitude. We are taking steps to ensure that this becomes possible either this year or earlier next year,” the minister said.
Hamid said that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had given the go-ahead for the population census last year.
“This exercise needs to engage the services of as many as 358,000 soldiers who could not become available within the stipulated time.” In February, therefore, the decision on census had to be deferred.
“If the conditions allow; the security situation remains unchanged, leaving space for a large number of soldiers to perform duties in population census, this can be done this year. Otherwise, we will have to wait a few more months.”
Abdul Qayyum said key financial, administrative and related matters of governance were largely hampered by the absence of fresh population census. “Since 1998, we have failed to count the exact number of people living in our country.”
Meanwhile, the draft Finance Bill 2016 was strongly criticised by opposition lawmakers.
Mohsin Aziz of PTI said: “In the PPP tenure, oil prices were high but the power prices were kept low, which explains why the circular debt was high. But why the circular debt is high now when oil prices are low internationally and the government has kept the power prices high?”
He said that regulated cigarette industry was taxed heavily in the new budget, but illicit cigarette economy was not held accountable. “This will result in the mushroom growth of illicit cigarettes instead of discouraging tobacco products.”
Aziz accused the ambassadors of Denmark, Switzerland and Holland of criticising the government for withdrawing tax exemption on tetra packs.
Kamil Ali Agha of PML-Q said that the delay in the announcement of the NFC award would create resentment among provinces, Agha said. The CPEC’s Western route needed to be prioritised to restore the confidence of smaller provinces, he said.
Mohsin Leghari raised concern over exemptions given to Chinese companies in Pakistan. “We are putting all our eggs in one basket.”
Saeed Ghani of PPP-P said that a NAB officer was found to be mixed up in a major financial scam involving officials of the National Bank of Pakistan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the senator alleged.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani referred the matter to Senate’s law panel.
Kulsoom Parveen of PML-N pointed out that Pakistan lacked early flood warning system. The chairman Senate instructed Leader of House Raja Zafarul Haq to take up the issue with the government and submit a report. He referred the matter to the Senate’s climate change panel.
Muzafar Hussain Shah of PML-F said that despite the presence of statutory bodies such as National Commission for Women and Human Rights Commission, a separate human rights cell had been set up in the Law Ministry that was completely unnecessary.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2016.
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