The need to postpone the census

And why holding it is necessary

Policies adopted under Ziaul Haq have created a situation where holding a census has become impossible without calling in the army. It was under the military ruler that MQM was created in mid 1980s to encourage ethnic strife between the Urdu speaking population and the rest living together peacefully in Sindh. Not that there existed no contradictions between the ethnic groups at the time. The induction of MQM, however, sharpened the differences beyond measure. Many Afghan refugees who entered Balochistan during Ziaul Haq’s Afghan jihad have got Pakistani CNICs, thus unsettling the fragile ethnic balance in the province. The Baloch political parties fear that unless all the refugees are sent back, the census would turn the Baloch into a minority in their own province.

Political exigencies have further complicated the issue. The PPP having formed a coalition with MQM in Sindh was in the best position to bring the ethnic differences within manageable limits and hold a census acceptable to all. However, while the PPP needed MQM’s support to retain power at the centre, it stood to lose popularity in its own constituency by allowing MQM a free hand during the head count initiated in 2008. The exercise was therefore suspended in midstream. Now that it finds the MQM in a tight corner, it suits Qaim Ali Shah to say that the upcoming census is an issue of life and death for Sindh and his government will not allow the centre to delay or postpone it.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), responsible for holding the census, has estimated that at least 300,000 army personnel would be needed to supervise the exercise. These can only be made available after the conclusion of the ongoing operation in the Shawal sector of NWA. With all political parties insistent on holding the census, hopefully the exercise would be initiated soon after the middle of the present year when the operation would be over. Reportedly the provinces have unanimously decided to postpone the census till then.