KARACHI: Mainstream political and religious parties, nationalists, and intellectuals at a programme on Saturday demanded that the digital census be postponed as hundreds of thousands of flood-hit people in Sindh have still not returned to their homes.

The demand came at the event titled “Census 2023, A Sindh Perspective” organised by the Sindhi Association of North America (Sana) at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi.

The speakers also said that it was for the very first time that the population census was being held after a period of five years instead of 10 years against the “best international practices only to accommodate demands of certain political stakeholders”.

They apprehended that the result of the census might create a new controversy at a time when the country was already mired in several challenging problems.

Call to not include ‘illegal immigrants’ in headcount

Senior PPP leader Senator Nisar Khuhro, whose stance was slightly different from other speakers, said that his party had “certain objections” over the “digital census”.

He said that firstly, the computerised national identity cards should be made mandatory for the census and that there should be a separate column in the census form for illegal immigrants.

Senator Khuhro said that the population of Sindh was shown less in the sixth census held in 2017. Despite objections from the Sindh government, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had approved the provisional results of the census as “final”.

Citing the 2010 data, Khuhro said there were an estimated 2.5 million “illegal foreigners” in Sindh whose number had increased now.

PML-N leader Shah Mohammed Shah said that illegal immigrants should not be counted in the census. He feared that Sindh’s demography was being changed.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek leader Ayaz Latif Palijo said Sindh was facing a “demographic invasion” and claimed that the digital census was a “direct attack”.

He said the federal government was planning to postpone general elections on the pretext of lack of funds, but the same regime was spending huge money on holding the census at a time when 20m people had been displaced because of the floods.

Mr Palijo asked as to what was the “urgency” to hold the census within five years.

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party leader Qadir Magsi said that this census was not being carried out for obtaining data for planning purposes. “This census is a fraud, which should be postponed as we will not accept it,” he declared.

Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz leader Illahi Bux Bikak asked on whose demands the census was being carried out within five years.

He alleged that after 1985 delimitation of electoral constituencies in Karachi was carried out to favour certain political stakeholders and feared that the same exercise would be carried out after the present census.

Jeay Sindh Mahaz leader Khaliq Junejo said the government had not presented any ‘concrete justification’ for holding the census. He said that the people from other areas had been settled in Karachi, but flood-affected people were being ‘expelled’.

Awami Tehreek leader Lal Jarwar said that the Supreme Court in Karachi law and order suo motu case had issued directions for “expelling four million illegal immigrants” from the metropolis and asked why this order of the apex court had not been implemented.

He said that an estimated Rs35 billion amount was being spent on the census and it should be diverted for rehabilitation of the flood-hit people in Sindh.

AJP leader Lal Shah also objected to the census and said it was being carried out as part of a certain political agenda.

Earlier, intellectual Naseer Memon gave a presentation about Census 2023 and said the number of enumerators was insufficient and they could not cover not only far-flung areas of other districts of Sindh.

He pointed out the population density of the Karachi division was about 20 times more than other areas whereas enumerators in other districts were only 1.8 times more than in the Karachi division.

“Karachi will have 17 enumerators to cover one square kilometre area i.e. one enumerator will have to cover 0.06sqkms whereas in rural areas one enumerator will have to cover 7.7sqkms. In Karachi one enumerator will cover 1,585 persons compared with 1,755 persons per enumerator in other districts,” he said.

“Covering such a large area with this number of enumerators will not be impossible,” he opined.

Mr Memon feared there was a possibility that a large number of the flood-hit people would not be counted in the census.

Writer Noorul Huda Shah said a large number of people in Sindh were displaced as their homes were destroyed.

Intellectual Amanullah Shaikh said sometimes it appeared that the PPP took undue advantage of the demands of nationalists and progressive groups in Sindh.

Sana’s representatives Dr Aijaz Turk, Dr Valeed Shaikh, Asghar Pathan and Atta Malah also spoke and demanded the census be postponed because of the displacement of flood-affected people in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023