PHC orders govt to include Kalash religion in census

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to include the Kalash religion in the national census form prior to the second phase of the exercise starting April 25.

A two-judge bench announced the order while hearing a petition filed by members of the Kalash community. The government was represented in court by the deputy attorney general. Sabir Awan, the counsel forthe  petitioner, argued that the Kalash people subscribed to one of the oldest known religions of the region and their members continued to live in three remote villages of Chitral.

Awan cautioned that exclusion of their religion from the census form would be an injustice to the community and a violation of law, which guaranteed equal rights to all citizens. He pointed out that almost all major religions were included in the form except Kalash.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court directed the government to include the Kalash religion on the census form before April 25. “It’s a landmark decision and is a victory for the people of Kalash,” Wazir Zada said.

Earlier in February, the people of Chitral had threatened to boycott the census for omitting the Kalash religion and 13 other languages being spoken in the district from the enumeration form. Representatives of the Kalash community were reported to have warned that the tribe was already endangered and their exclusion from the census database would create further complications, especially with regard to their size and strength. Currently, the Kalash tribe is estimated to be around 3,500 to 4,000 strong. Described as an anthropological enigma, the Kalash community is more than a magnet for local and international tourism.