PESHAWAR: A former parliamentarian from Fata, Munir Khan Orakzai, has demanded of the federal government and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to include a column in the census form for internally displaced persons (IDPs), staying in different settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that accurate data could be profiled about the affected tribal people.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday, the former lawmaker from Kurram Agency said there was no special column in the census form for IDPs from tribal region.

Flanked by former president of Fata Lawyers Forum Karim Mehsud, president of Fata Students Organisation (FSO) Shaukat Aziz and Haleem Orakzai, he said it was duty of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to issue a separate form or include special column for IDPs after announcement of holding the housing and population census in the country to ensure collection of true data.

Munir Orakzai said around 70 per cent tribal people had migrated to safer places during the military operation in various agencies of Fata, adding if suggestions of the tribal elders were not considered then count of people would be no more than 30 to 40 per cent in tribal regions, and that would be sheer injustice with the tribesmen.

Consequently, he said in case of mistakes in the census Fata would be kept deprived of its due share in the National Finance Commission award, and required representation in provincial and national assemblies.

Munir Orakzai alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to not hold accurate census in Fata, saying they would

take Fata parliamentarians, tribal elders, and youth to press the government to accept their demands.

Similarly, Karim Mehsud said most of the tribal families had been out of their home towns and living temporarily in settled and far flung areas of the province.

He said it could be difficult to reach out to all the displaced families, particularly those living along the Pak-Afghan border.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2017