Sindh Assembly passes resolution against digital census

• Sindh Assembly passed a resolution against the digital census
• PPP’s Jam Shoro presented the resolution in the House
• He said there are many objections against the census

KARACHI: Sindh Assembly on Monday passed a resolution against the seventh digital population and housing census.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Jam Khan Shoro presented the resolution against the digital census which is still underway in various party of the province.

The resolution said many families are still affected by the floods. It said there are many objection against the census. The resolution was passed with a majority vote amid protests by the opposition.

The PPP government has already raised objections against the first ever digital census. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said the provincial government has raised reservation with the prime minister.

CM Sindh recently said the provincial government will not participate in the digital census if reservations were not be removed.  He said the population of Sindh was not less than 70 million as mentioned in the 2017 census and it will be unacceptable if the population is lower.

A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hinted at parting ways from the federal government if their reservations regarding the digital census and providing compensation to floods victims are not addressed.

Addressing an event, Bilawal raised concerns about the country’s first-ever digital census, called it a “flawed” exercise and urging the federal government to address concerns.

Bilawal said that conducting the digital census at the time of the elections was not the solution. He said the upcoming elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were being held based on the old census, while the elections in the other provinces will be held on the new digital census.

He said the PPP and many citizens from other provinces also raised reservations about the futile exercise. He said the party wanted a “fair” census and not a “flawed” digital census.

“I got to know that a digital census is underway when it was extended. If this is a census where you have to enter your information yourself on the internet and if I as a federal minister did not know, then it means the people must not know [about it] either.”

He further said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah apprised the federal government about the PPP’s concerns which have not been heard.

“If elections in one or two provinces will take place based on a different census, and other provincial polls will be carried out based on a flawed digital census, then this is not acceptable to the PPP,” he said.

He said that the Sindh government will not support the census if objections of the chief minister are not heard. He said the resources are given to provinces based the census results and the provincial government will allow their rights to be taken away.

The PPP chairman also called on the federal government to fulfil the promises made to the flood victims. He said the PPP would raise the issue with the prime minister as well as in the National Assembly and the federal cabinet.

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