Balochistan assembly calls on govt to revise census results

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly passed a joint condemnation resolution on Tuesday over under-representation of the province’s population in the new census.

According to Samaa News, Balochistan National Party (BNP) member and Agriculture Minister Asad Baloch presented the resolution saying that the Balochistan population was recorded as 20 million in the digital census.

However, he informed that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) approved the provincial population at 10.7 million.

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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Awami National Party, BNP and other political parties supported the resolution condemning the census.

They pointed out that undercounting the province’s population would negatively affect the development of Balochistan. The population of Quetta was also reduced from 3.5 million to 2.5 million in the census. This would further deprive the city of much-needed resources, the resolution maintained.

The resolution called on the federal government to revise the census data and to ensure that Balochistan’s population is accurately represented. It demands the government to take steps to address the province’s underdevelopment.

Provincial assembly member Nasrullah Khan Zayrai, however, objected to the resolution. He said his name had been included without his consent. He walked out of the assembly in protest, after which the session was adjourned.

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