Justice (retd) Wajihuddin, dissatisfied with the official apathy on upcoming census in his capacity as Aam Loeg Ittehad acting chairman, (ALI), an egalitarian political party, has filed a petition in the Pakistan Supreme Court. He has invoked articles 184 (3) and 187 of the Constitution. The federal and provincial governments, together with the census authorities and NADRA, have been cited as respondents.
The retired judge has pointed out that none of the governments was serious in this regard, though for different reasons. ‘The federal government is engaged in a mechanical exercise, solely because it has to honour its undertaking before the apex court.
‘The ‘Sardars’ and ‘Khans’ of Balochistan and KPK feel threatened that once their impecunious and burgeoning populations are quantified, their own lavish and luxurious lifestyles would come under scrutiny’. ‘The Sindh government, which exclusively represents rural Sindh, is determined to inflating the numbers in rural areas and decimate those in urban Sindh’. ‘While in Punjab, population growth is on a declining graph and the smaller provinces are registering rising percentage of population growth, it suits the majority province to put the census exercise on a back burner. As a result, Punjab would neither be able to retain its majority 148 seats in the National Assembly nor get a lion’s share in the federal resources because all that would be population-based’, he stated.
‘In the scenario, spurious arguments are being raised and reported. Provincial elites are clamouring that Pakistan CNIC holders alone be counted and where, allegedly, Pakistan nationals, are without CNICs, the same be issued post haste. No one can be averse to issuance of CNICs to genuine Pakistanis. But for that there has to be a rational cutoff date, as when national elections are held’. ‘If not, there is every danger of fake inclusions and unjust exclusions. As for the Afghan nationals, the census authorities have already conceded, though incorrectly, that those in the Afghan camps would not be counted,’ the petition reads.
Furthermore, it states that the purpose of a national census is to count heads and homes. ‘Nationality is of no consequence. Even foreigners, other than members of the diplomatic core, are to be counted. The only criterion is whether one is located in Pakistan on the day the count is taken,’ it states.
The petition also documents the province wise situation, starting with Sindh where an issue is created of not including Form 2A in the current census. Form 2A was never a part of the previous five (5) censuses in the country. Besides, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) confined the current exercise to Forms 1 and 2 alone. The chief census commissioner has committed that while the present is too late a stage to include Form 2A but that such would be done, if permitted by the CCI, in the next winter. In other words, let the task at hand be not derailed for issues, he addressed.
Not dissimilar is the issue of induction of outsiders in the census. While, on the one hand, inflated numbers may only result in enhancement of entitlements of the relevant province, fact remains that none of this is going to affect the voters’ strength of a province or its regions downwards. This is so, because voter lists are always CNIC-based, with NADRA and ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) on the board.
‘Specific to Balochistan, there is a lot of hue and cry that, because of the disturbed law and order situation, many of the Balochs have shifted to Sindh and Punjab. Even if this be so, such Balochs may be counted wherever they physically be. Yet a petition stands filed and admitted in the Balochistan High Court’.
In this background, the Aam Loeg Ittehad (ALI), through its acting chairman, the retired Supreme Court judge, has, inter alia, prayed to the Supreme Court to exercise its jurisdiction under articles 184(3) and 187 of the Constitution and pass such orders as deemed fit in the interests of justice.
Meanwhile, through an appended stay application, the petitioner has prayed that the federal government be directed to perform its obligations, in due conjunction with the CCI and further that, under no circumstances, the census exercise be allowed to be derailed, let alone abandoned.