Centre fears provinces may fudge census data

CJP says federal govt should be prepared for consequences of delay

ISLAMABAD: The provinces might manipulate the population census data, twisting the results to their advantage, the federal government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

This emerged during the hearing of a suo motu case on the delay in holding of census.

The case is being heard by a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

Additional Attorney-General (AAG) Waqar Rana told the bench about the absence of AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali, saying that was currently abroad.

But, the chief justice remarked that the federal government should be prepared to face the consequence of the delay in holding census, adding that this was the result of complete negligence on part of the federation.

Earlier, the AAG submitted a fresh report on behalf of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The report stated that an analysis of results obtained under House Listing Operations (HLOs) carried out in 1990 and 2011, which were carried out without the involvement of armed forces, demonstrated that vested interest groups significantly exaggerated the census results.

Consequently, the report said, both HLOs had to be discarded by the federal governments.

It stated that Population and Housing Census data formed the basis for political representations and distribution of national resources.

“These factors point to the interests of the provinces and ethnic groups in the census and how either would like to influence the census process to their advantage.”

The government believes that deployment of armed forces is necessary for several reasons. Firstly, it is decision of Councils of Common Interests (CCI) as well as the provinces have also shown complete trust on military forces.

It stated that the armed forces will require at least three months for mobilizing army units and logistical support, adding that the next census could therefore be held in March April next year.

The apex court was informed that the Balochistan government had expressed concerns over presence of Afghans in the province.

The federal government had informed Balochistan that Afghans living in camps would not be counted and those living in general population would be segregated.

The report showed that the KP government also expressed concerns about listing Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs). The report said that a separate form would be developed for obtaining TDP data.

Later, the hearing was adjourned until October 4.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2016.