KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday announced that it would challenge the ‘controversial’ National Census-2017 despite its approval by the Council of Common Interests and decided to seek a joint session of parliament to debate the “undercounted” population of Sindh and Balochistan.

The decision came from the top leadership of the party and the chief executive of the province as they agreed that despite the federal government’s commitment for holding a fresh census by the end of 2021, it was crucial to discuss the subject in parliament in line with the requirements of the Constitution.

An hour-long meeting between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was held to discuss the issue. Law Adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab was also present in the meeting.

The meeting also finalised the draft to be presented before the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker seeking a joint session of parliament to discuss the sixth National Census-2017.

“The meeting regretted that despite the serious objection raised by the Sindh chief minister during the meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI), the 6th National Census-2017 was approved,” said a statement issued after the meeting at Bilawal House. “The federal government approved the 6th National Census-2017 without meeting formalities. It’s unjust and illegal.”

Murtaza Wahab says CCI ignored Sindh CM’s opposition and approved census without consensus

The Sindh chief minister, it said, had very clearly raised objection over the headcount in Sindh and Balochistan but despite his reservations it was approved against the norms, tradition and rules of the CCI.

A constitutional requirement

The PPP would go for a joint session of parliament to open debate on the sixth National Census-2017 under Article 154 of the Constitution.

Defining the party stance, Barrister Wahab said that the PPP had made it very clear that it would not accept the National Census-2017 and any future decision under the cover of this exercise.

The joint session of parliament, he said, was mandatory to meet the constitutional requirement to debate the “controversial” results of the census.

“At the April 2021 meeting of the CCI, the Sindh chief minister was the only person who raised objection and opposed the approval of the census,” he told Dawn. “But his reservations were ignored and the census was approved with the majority votes after Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan approved the results. But let everyone be clear — the CCI never approves or rejects things on the basis of majority. The CCI always takes consensus decisions. So in this case, the Constitution demands parliament discuss issues the centre and the province [do not] agree [on].”

He said the Sindh government was writing to the Senate chairman and NA speaker for convening parliament’s joint session. The copy of this would also be sent to the president and prime minister as a legal requirement while referring to clause 7 of Article 154 which clearly asked for parliamentary debate on the subject.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2021