Religious minorities in Pakistan claim the country’s census, released by the government in May, appears to have undercounted them.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics published the data of sixth Population and Housing Census completed in 2017 on May 19. The previous census had been conducted in 1998.
The results of the 2017 census conducted under former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Supremo Nawaz Sharif were delayed after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh provinces complained that their populations were undercounted.
Pakistan’s 1998 census recorded 132.3 million people, while the 2017 data show the population has grown to 207.68 million. The population includes 106.018m males, 101.344m females and 321,744 transgender persons.
The data showed that Muslims grew to 96.47 percent of the population, while religious minorities shrank. Hindus accounted for 1.73% of the population; Christians, 1.27pc; Ahmadis, 0.09%; scheduled caste, 0.41%and others, 0.02%.
“The 1998 census data showed a Hindu population of nearly 2 million. Yet the new census showed that it had only risen to 3.5 million in 20 years,” said Karachi Supreme Court attorney Neel Keshav. He maintains that the numbers are likely to be much higher since the majority of Hindus live in rural areas.
Experts say citizenship based on unrestrained human rights in Pakistan could lead to improvements and this can only occur if the leadership acts responsibly and avoid inciting hatred.
“Migration does not explain the low population growth and that under-coverage may have occurred,” he said citing a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stat maintaining that over the past six merely 8,000 Hindus have emigrated to India.
Pakistan is an immensely plural country characterized by religious, sectarian and ethno-linguistic diversities. It is an overwhelmingly Muslim community with more than 90 percent of its 142 million inhabitants adhering to Islam, yet they belong to several doctrinal groups.
According to a notification issued in May 2020, a national minorities commission was to be reconstituted comprising of six members. The composition consists of six members, representatives of different federal ministries, along with the secretary of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is also a member. There are 12 non-official members from the minority community and two Muslim members. The present composition, and its governance, results in no commission at all. Such a commission is a bureaucratic eyewash, a ‘tick box’ and a disingenuous exercise.
Through this notification, the federal government has shown contempt for a 2014 apex court judgment. In addition to contempt, there are two important points to note. The first fundamental issue with this new attempted commission is that it lacks independence.
Human rights experts maintain that minorities in Pakistan are not safe. Analysts say their social and economic status is precarious and their security is subject to the arbitrary whim of the Muslim majority.
Prof Abdia Elvin of Forman Christian University lamented the underreporting of Christian community in the census. “Census is a powerful tool. It is used for planning and development. The census results determine the future course of any community or country,” she said.
“Reservations of minority communities about census reports are widely known. The minorities have never accepted the census results that have deprived them of their rights and privileges. The policies and distribution of resources have not been fair. The census has led to identity crises and political mishandling of minorities’ affairs.”
“Even though Christians have migrated overseas and converted to Islam, our church records make us suspect that Christians may have been undercounted by at least half a million,” said Center for Social Justice Director Peter Jacob.
“We’re struggling to find accurate data, and somehow the government is not helping. It is not investigating,” he added.
Religious minorities accused the government of undercounting them so that Islamabad can draw smaller constituencies and share out fewer seats in assemblies and Senate.
At present, the minorities can contest only 33 reserved seats in the assemblies and four seats in the Senate.
Keeping in view the reservations expressed by some stakeholders, over the results of the census the Council of Common Interest (CCI) in April had decided to hold fresh census by the end of 2021 under which the 2023 general elections will be held.
The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The meeting had also decided to take all stakeholders on board for holding fresh census so that there could be no reservation from any side.
Experts say citizenship based on unrestrained human rights in Pakistan could lead to improvements and this can only occur if the leadership acts responsibly and avoid inciting hatred.
