Balochistan census result challenged

CJ Afghan-led BHC bench opts to withold decision regarding the petition’s merits

QUETTA:

In a recent development, the Balochistan population decline recorded during the 2023 census has been contested, as it faces a legal challenge in the Balochistan High Court (BHC). The high court bench, headed by Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, has chosen to withhold its decision regarding the petition’s merits.

The constitutional petition was presented by Hasan Kamran Advocate and represented by Senator Kamran Murtaza Advocate.

The crux of the petitioner’s argument hinges on the digital census results, which initially reported Balochistan’s population at 21.7 million. However, the petitioner asserts that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) illicitly slashed the figure by a staggering 7 million.

Importantly, the petitioner underlines that despite the population adjustment in Balochistan, the national population total remains unchanged.

To this end, the petitioner emphasizes that the process of electing chief ministers should have been exercised within the Council of Common Interests (CCI) session, where participation should extend beyond Sindh and Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2023.