Ethnic prejudice.

THE events of 1971, resulting in the separation of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, witnessed a terrible aftermath, the impact of which we are still dealing with in 2023. There were migrations between the two countries that continued until the late 1970s. The population that migrated was given cover under the law to be able to apply for and be granted Pakistani citizenship on the basis of proof of presence or residence in the country.

The majority of the ethnic Bengali or Bengali-speaking Pakistani population were issued ID cards when Pakistan introduced its first national identity card in 1973 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Pakistan Citizenship Act also provides for birthright citizenship, clearly stating that every child that is born in Pakistan is a Pakistani. There is, however, a strong undercurrent of discrimination and xenophobia in our system, whether at the state level or in personal interactions.

This discrimination, or perceiving the population through the lens of ethnicity, has had far-reaching effects, which continue to marginalise and label ethnic groups. Large numbers remain stateless, undocumented, or at the risk of statelessness, or face challenges in the documentation process.

In years of working with this population, specifically on the subject of identity and citizenship, we have seen several complications that cause people to remain without identity documents, or with documents that have unresolved issues. The reason for this is the applicants' ethnic background and socioeconomic position. Additionally, with little or no access to education, people are unaware of their legal rights, resulting in them being actively profiled and ostracised.

It's hard to make sense of the census when so much bias exists.

There are numerous blocked CNICs and forcible registration in the alien registration database in the early 2000s, resulting in the cancellation of citizenship for many families. Also, due to non-implementation of law and policy, entire families' daily living and access to fundamental rights like health, education, employment, housing and progress are hampered. The root cause is their ethnic background and the presumption that they are foreigners, aliens and non-nationals.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics recently launched a website for self-enumeration, giving every citizen the 'option to count themselves in the census'. This is a good move to facilitate the collection of data and allow citizens to include...