The census must not divide the people
It suited the short-sighted PML-N government to sweep the census related differences between its Balochistan allies under the rug. The Baloch nationalist parties had opposed holding the elections in the presence of Afghan refugees. The PKMAP and JUI-F on the other hand wanted Afghan refugees to continue to live in Pakistan to change the fragile ethnic balance in their favour. The issue could have been settled in the CCI which is the right forum such disputes. As the demand for holding the census got momentum, the PML-N delayed the CCI meeting for nearly a year to keep its allies at the centre and the province together. When the government was told that the matter could land in the Supreme Court where it could be charged with neglecting a constitutional obligation, it agreed to hold the CCI meeting at the end of February 2016. Both Sindh and Balochistan unanimously opposed the census till the removal of the Afghan refugees.
Last month the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) unveiled the election schedule. While “every living soul in Pakistan” was to be counted on March 18, the army was given the authority to register the foreigners. Provincial government representatives were to accompany the enumerators in Afghan concentration areas. It was claimed that there were no displaced persons in the country despite a representative Balochistan jirga having already called for the return of the internally displaced Baloch before holding the exercise. The PBS also warned those refusing to participate in the headcount of a fine of Rs 50,000 and six-months in jail.
The government could have settled all these issues peacefully through prolonged CCI sessions. With only 11 days left for the census to begin former CM Akhtar Mengal has once again rejected the way census was being conducted as according to him it fails to remove Baloch reservations. He has warned that if the exercise was conducted by force the people of Balochistan would resist it. The government’s neglect of a vital issue is likely to cause more strife in Balochistan which is not in national interest.
