Will the population census be held on schedule?

ISLAMABAD-It appears the long, drawn-out wait for the population and home census which was last conducted in the country 18 years ago, may grow longer as doubts have begun to surface over the feasibility of deploying nearly 200,000 jawans of army for security purpose, leave alone mobilisation of other staff and resources, for the daunting exercise scheduled in March this year.

The News has learnt that Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS), responsible for conducting the census, is seeking to involve at least one jawan of Pakistan Army in each of 166,000 blocks the country has been divided into to carry out the census.

The deployment of Army jawans is also necessitated by concerns and calls for lending greater credibility to the census exercise which had been previously marred by reports of over-exaggerated headcounts done deliberately to grab larger share in delimitation of political constituencies. Beside 166000 more personals are also required to manage movement of jawans during about one month long duty to sonduct population and home census.

However, clouds of uncertainties have started hovering over the entire process since an upsurge in the violence and terrorist activities in recent months has forced the Pakistan Army to deploy its resources extensively in the tribal areas as well as in urban centres like Karachi, leaving everyone in doubt on whether the population and home census can proceed as planned, especially when a mere month is to pass before everything is to be readied for the massive exercise. Presently more then 200000 personals are performing duties in Fata, KP, Karachi and in other areas of the country.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) responsible to conduct census has divided country in 166,000 blocks and at least one army personal will be required to ensure security of the numerators. Armed personals are required not just for security but also to ensure credibility of the population and home census, an unnamed official of Statistic Division told this correspondent.

He further said in past there had always been problem in Sindh and Balochistan while conducting population census. In Balochistan Baloch and Pashtun tribes always exaggerated their strength just to show that their population in the province is more. On the basis of this population they claim seats in general as well as local bodies election. In past this was the only example in that a term bay charage (light less) villages was coined. 

It means that there were villages where nobody was living. These villages were used mostly in Baloch areas as they wanted to their population was higher as compared to Pashtuns. Similarly in Sindh urban and population, (urdu and sindhi speaking) always registered much more then their actual strength. Again purpose was to increase population in official record. This was done in urban as rural areas. Now army persons required for credibility of census and security of census staff.

Now if one army personal is required for one block then 166000 personals will be required for field duty. Then army has its own chain of command and manage these 166000 persons at least 30000 will also be required. At least about 2,000,000 army personals will be required for a period of about one month, Finance Division officials told The News.

In current situation when rangers are conducting armed duties in Karachi and KPK, Zarab-e-Azab operation in North Waziristan and other areas on ak-Afghan border. Can 200000 army personals car be spared for a period one month to conduct population and home census, is a big question commented a finance ministry official on the condition not to be named.

Another option with the government was to conduct census in phases, but all in finance ministry and PBS are of the view that this is not possible as by all international standards census has to be conducted throughout the country in one go. Then Council of Common Interests (CCI), an inter-provincial body, has already decided that the sixth population census would be conducted in March 2016 with the support of the armed forces, as was done during the 1998 census. 

The CCI had also decided that the housing and population censuses would be conducted at the same time. Finance Ministry has already allocated Rs 1.45 billion to conduct population and home census and provincial governments will also share this financial burden. This is worth mentioning that to conduct population census after every 10 years is a constitutional obligation, the last census took place in 1998. Back in 2010, the CCI had decided to conduct a population census in 2011 but the decision could not be implemented by the previous Pakistan People’s Party government. 

During the last government’s tenure, house listing – which is a component of the population census – was completed in 2011. But the exercise of population census was delayed on one pretext or the other. Now Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had approved the census plan a few months ago. Since electoral rolls in the country are updated each time on the basis of the last census, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) wanted to carry out the much-needed delimitation of constituencies for the national and provincial assemblies before the next general election is due in 2018.

This is worth mentioning that the first census in Pakistan was conducted in 1951, the second in 1961, and the third in 1972 instead of 1971 due to political turmoil. The fourth census was held in March 1981 and fifth, which was due in 1991, was conducted in March 1998.