Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has expressed ‘shock’ over the omission of Sikhism in the ongoing national population census.
In a tweet, Khan called it a disappointment and urged the authorities to rectify the mistake.
Shocking to know that the Sikh religion has not been included in the religion column of the census forms. This omission must be rectified
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 20, 2017
Sikhs are very small minority in Pakistan but their exclusion from the census has been criticised by civil society and Sikh community and leaders.
On March 18, Sikh community in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa (KP) planned a protest against the move.
“Every other religion is mentioned in census except Sikhism, which is being recognized across the world. But sadly our federal government has forgotten this community in the most significant national event that can change the fate of every Pakistani,” said KP Minority’s Alliance President Radesh Singh.
The Sikh community representatives called it a conspiracy to create a rift between Sikhs and government of Pakistan.
“If the government does not include Sikhs in the census, how will it know about the number of Sikhs living in country?” another Sikh leader asked.