Sindh govt not responding to centre’s proposal over census, SHC told

PPP has taken the federal govt to court over lack of transparency in the census exercise in Sindh

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led provincial government is not responding to the federal government’s proposal to set-up a committee to resolve its reservations such as appointment of independent enumerators and alleged concealment of facts during the census in Sindh, the additional attorney-general informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday.

Filing comments on behalf of the federal government on a petition filed by the PPP leaders, Additional Attorney-General Salman Talibuddin said Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had written a letter to the Sindh chief minister wherein it was proposed that a committee should be set up to address such reservations. But, he alleged that the provincial government had not given any response so far.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, was hearing a petition filed by the PPP-Parliamentarians through its leaders Farhatullah Babar and Moula Bux Chandio against alleged anomalies and irregularities in the census drive in Sindh.



Talibuddin contended that the petition had no merits and therefore pleaded to the court to dismiss it. He argued that the PPP should approach the Supreme Court (SC) if they had any issues concerning the census.

On the other hand, Sindh Advocate-General Zamir Ghumro supported the contentions expressed by the PPP leadership in the petition. He argued that the petition was maintainable for hearing. He further argued that the petitioner should be provided the requisite information related to the census.

The bench directed the AG Sindh to seek instructions from the provincial government related to its dispute with the federal government in the matter of the census exercise. He was also directed to inform the court in this regard by April 18, when the matter will be taken up again.



Case history

The petition was filed by PPP leaders Babar and Chandio, who said several important aspects of the census had been concealed from the people and that the entire exercise should be made transparent.

They said the people were complaining about the process of census because no procedure exists to verify the data of the families being counted. The petitioners had alleged that the assistant commissioners, who were notified as census district officers, should maintain the relevant records in their respective offices. These records should also be made accessible to the people in accordance with Article 19A of the Constitution, they had argued.

In the plea, the PPP leaders had argued that Article 19A ensures that every citizen should have the right to have access to information in all the matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law.



They said such an exercise undertaken by the census staff was not being done in a transparent manner and the process of the population count should be conducted in line with accepted international standards and norms.

They said the Sindh CM had addressed a letter to the federal authorities concerned on March 12, but they had paid no heed to the same.

Therefore, they pleaded the court to order the respondents to set up an emergency complaint centre accessible to the people to get their grievances address regarding wrong, false and fabricated enumeration in a timely and effective manner.