Census being made fair, credible, minister tells Senate

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid assured the Senate on Friday that the government was taking every possible step to make the ongoing census fair, transparent and credible, as opposition senators came up with a plethora of complaints and reservations regarding the nationwide exercise.

Zahid Hamid also announced that it had been decided to conduct the census in Fata in the second phase of the exercise and in the case of IDPs, data available with the Fata Disaster Management Authority would be utilised for the purpose.

He was responding to points of public importance raised by Leader of Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan, Azam Swati of PTI, PPP’s Sherry Rehman, Taj Haider, Sehar Kamran, Abdul Rehman Malik, Sassui Palijo, MQM’s Mian Ateeq and PML-N’s Ayesha Raza Farooq. The minister said that vigilance cells had been set up at all levels.

Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani reminded Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq about his proposal of appointing a pointman (minister) with regard to the questions being raised and to be raised on the census. He told him that he had informed the prime minister in writing about the proposal. A minister, he said, would be accordingly appointed but for the time being, the law minister would look after the matter.

Opposition senators expressed their reservations and concerns regarding non-use of carbon paper, using lead pencil, numbering of buildings, labour force, unemployed persons, etc. They emphasised for better coordination among the Centre and the provinces and at the district level and even lower levels and urged digital entry of families.

The minister assured that every concern of the senators would duly be looked into and addressed. He said already the use of lead pencil had been banned. Rabbani said that the census must not be controversial, as this would tend to harm the nation. He asked the senators to even give their proposals and concerns in writing for the minister.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar demanded that the proposed Riwaj Act and the regulation to set up local bodies in the tribal areas in the recently announced reforms package be placed before parliament for discussion before the president signed any regulation in this regard.

Speaking on an issue of public importance, Babar said that keeping the Riwaj Act and LB law secret from the public and parliament raised serious questions about the law replacing the notorious FCR in tribal areas as promised in the reforms package.

“It will be a disastrous step backward if it turns out that the Riwaj Act is even more regressive and anti-human rights than the notorious FCR,” he cautioned. He said that the President must not sign these regulations merely on the advice of bureaucracy alone without it being discussed in parliament.

Likewise, parliament should be taken on board as to how the local bodies would be set up in tribal areas, the powers and responsibilities of these bodies and the mode of election and whether these would be held in all agencies simultaneously or in a staggered manner and how.

He also wanted to know how the government proposed to extend the jurisdiction of superior courts to Fata as promised in the reforms package and the timeline for it. “The silence of the government on these issues is deafening and gives rise to doubts that the reforms package is more of publicity stunt rather than serious effort to mainstream the tribal areas,” he said.

Responding to a calling attention notice by PPP’s Sherry Rehman, Zahid Hamid confirmed that three mills were sealed in August last year at the behest of Pakistan Environment Protection Agency in Islamabad. He said one was allowed to be reopened on compliance with the standard operating procedure with regard to air pollution while the other two might be operating at night. However, two days earlier, these were also sealed after the police assisted EPA to do so and would not be permitted to restart activities unless these also complied with the related law.

The government informed the Senate in writing during the Question-Hour that the reply to a question asked by Senator Farhatullah Babar had not been received and that the Establishment Division had transferred the question to the Ministry of Finance.

However, the ministry had not accepted the question so far. Senator Babar had sought details of pension and other benefits admissible to the officers in BPS-21 and BPS-22 on their retirement.