Delay in census: Govt running country on guesswork, laments opposition

Govt reiterates it will hold the headcount by March 2017

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday reiterated in the National Assembly that it will be able to hold the much delayed population census only by March 2017 as the opposition lawmakers lambasted it for running the country on guesswork.

The issue of census echoed in the lower house a day after Law Minister Zahid Hamid told the Senate that the headcount could not be held till March 2017 due to unavailability of army troops.

The opposition parties, especially the MQM, criticised government for making policies and distributing development budget without holding census.



MQM’s Sheikh Salahuddin asked how the government could award the National Finance Commission (NFC) without a census as, according to him, everything hinged on headcount. PPP’s Aijaz Jakhrani alleged that the government was not serious about census-taking.

“We are not shying away from census. The last census was held in 1998 during the PML-N government and we will also hold it this time,” Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch said after MNAs demanded to fix a date for the headcount.

He assured the house that census would be held prior to general election and by March 2017. “Since there is a bias with regard to [neutrality] of the civilian authorities, the military is preferable as a neutral entity for carrying out this job,” he said.

Earlier Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Sheikh Aftab also replied to a point of order in which a lawmaker claimed that increase in population was a time bomb more dangerous than nukes.

Meanwhile, the PPP’s parliamentary leader Naveed Qamar lambasted the government for delays in payment by the Pakistan International Airlines to PSO. “The government has no oil reserves in the country and no effort is being made to explore new reservoirs in country,” he added. In his reply, Aftab confirmed that there was an issue of delay in payments but assured he would look into the matter.

The PML-N lawmaker Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar along with eight other members also passed a resolution to send a high level official delegation to Medina during Islamic month of Rabiul Awwal.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2016.