ISLAMABAD, March 1: The much-awaited population census finally gets underway in Pakistan tomorrow amidst apprehensions that its findings may dramatically change power equations in the country.The Nawaz Sharif government decided to go ahead with the 16-day exercise after making two major compromises despite objections raised by several quarters.In an emergency meeting held in Lahore yesterday, the federal cabinet decided the census result would not affect the existing financial allocations to the four provinces of the country and that it would not have any impact on the number of seats allocated to the provinces in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.The number of Assembly seats and financial allocations have been frozen to check manipulation in the census, Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz, who is also in charge of the census, said after the meeting.Asked whether such a decision would not deprive the provinces of their due shares if the census showed a marked growth in theirpopulation, Aziz said the Centre could meet the needs of the provinces through other sources including development funds and grants.The federal cabinet also decided that the large number of Afghan refugees and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh living in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Baluchistan and several pockets of Karachi will not be included in the census.Objections to the exercise were raised mainly by the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan with their chief ministers expressing fears that the local population may be outnumbered by the migrants.Analysts believe problems may crop up if the census shows a major demographic change in the country, which is likely since the exercise is being held after a gap of 17 years.Punjab province, Pakistan's power centre, could lose its grip as in all probability its share in total population is expected to show a steep decline which might result in a reduction of seats allocated to it in the National Assembly.Punjab's share in population hasshown a continuous decline as it fell from 68.8 per cent in the first census of 1951 to 56.1 per cent in the last one held in 1981.The population percentage of both Sindh and Baluchistan has, on the other hand, grown steadily.As per the constitution, seat allocation for each province is decided on the basis of population percentage and currently Punjab has 116 out of 207 seats in the National Assembly.Despite the cabinet decision to freeze seat allocations for the time being, there is every possibility that demands will grow for redistribution of seats if the census shows a major change in the population pattern.Nearly three lakh civilian and military officials will conduct the exercise over the next 16 days though the government has decided to delay the census for some time in the snow-bound northern areas. As per the 1981 census, Pakistan's population stands at 124 million but according to estimates of various international agencies it has already crossed 140 million as the country has one ofthe highest growth rates - nearly three per cent - in the region.
