Senators up in arms against census results

Suggest verification of results through a post-census survey of selected areas

ISLAMABAD: Senators on Wednesday criticised the government for not comprehending the impact of further delay in addressing provinces’ reservations over ‘flawed’ census results, and suggested re-verification of the results through a post-census survey of selected areas.

The upper house members were of the view that the government should seriously consider the reservations of the provinces regarding the Census 2017 as the prevailing situation could cause a constitutional crisis.

Irrespective of the party affiliation, legislators from Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Fata unanimously challenged the census results, saying it is time for the government to either accept or reject claims of flawed counting by holding recounting of selected census blocks.

The house commenced debate, in the absence of the minister concerned, on a deferred motion moved by PPP Senator Taj Haider regarding the situation arising out of the reservations on the conduct of the population census.



Calling the figures ‘highly unreliable and inaccurate’, he said, “The government is trying to manipulate the situation and making efforts to push the matter under the rug instead of rectifying its mistake. Such an approach will cause generation of further complications.”

Haider said the census results did not match the figures compiled by the Bureau of Statistics in 2011 on the basis of the house count in Sindh, adding that even the NADRA data put the population of Sindh on a higher side. He said the census results contradicted the previous population figures released by the bureau and NADRA.

Senator Sehar Kamran said when the census was in progress, the Sindh government had requested the federal government to share primary results with it but the request was turned down. “An environment of mistrust between the provinces and the federal government will not favour anyone,” he said.

PML-Q’s Senator Kamil Ali Agha said: “It’s not merely an issue of increase or decrease in the assemblies’ seats, but of just distribution of resources and right future planning.”

Senator Azam Swati said: “To move forward and to select future targets, the country needs accurate and reliable statistics. Unfortunately, the government had failed to ensure it despite spending billions of rupees.”



Senator Mohsin Khan Leghari was of the view that from 1998 to 2017, Pakistan’s population had witnessed an increase of 57% “which was alarming”. He said the government should also take steps to tackle such a fast population growth.

JIT security

The government informed the Senate that it would withdraw additional security provided to members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the offshore assets of the Sharif family.

During the question-hour session, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said additional round-the-clock security had been provided to all six members of the JIT on the directives of the Supreme Court.

“There are reports that residents living in the vicinity of the houses of JIT members have been facing problem due to such foolproof security arrangements,” Chaudhry said, adding that besides police personnel, rangers vehicle also accompany children of JIT members when they go out of their houses.

Chaudhry was responding to a question asked by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Senator Usman Khan Kakar.

Trichotomy of power

The house continued debate on state institutions and their role over trichotomy of power.

Taking part in the debate, Opposition Leader in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said the role of judiciary was among the reasons for Pakistan failing to find solution to the key issues despite passage of so many years.

Narrating a brief history of the judiciary, the army and parliament, Ahsan said in the past politicians conspired against each other with the help of either one or two of the institutions.



He recalled how Nawaz Sharif became part of the conspiracy aimed at toppling Benazir Bhutto’s government in 1990.

Ahsan called upon the government to show restraint whenever in power, adding that it was he who advised the government to be patient when his close aide Khawaja Asif mocked the PTI members that returned to house, ending their months-long sit-in in 2014.

“The way the apex court is being attacked by the ruling PML-N in the wake of cases against it is something which will not lead it anywhere,” he maintained.

He said even during that tenure the government was hiding details of multibillion dollars projects from parliament. He said Pakistan had not struck a wise deal with China before starting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“There is no doubt that China is a time-tested friend of Pakistan, but a more robust negotiation from our side could have definitely compelled her to build a gold-paved road from Kashgar to Gwadar,” said the Senator, adding that despite efforts of four centuries, Russia could not succeed in materialising a similar project which is going to be a gateway to connect the landlocked Central Asian state with the rest of the world.