PHC orders federal govt to include Chitrali language in next census forms

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued orders to the federal government to include the Chitrali language, Khowar, in the forms of the next census.

During the hearing on Thursday, a two-member bench headed by PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the request filed by a resident of Chitral, Dr Inayatullah Faizi.

The high court ordered the federal government to include Khowar in the next census forms as the head and house count for 2017 has been completed.

Faizi, who is a poet, educationist and columnist, had filed a petition, requesting Khowar be included on the census form as it was the third most widely spoken language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after Pashto and Hindko.

When the census started earlier this year, the case was sent to the Supreme Court where other petitions regarding the inclusion of mother tongues in the census forms were also filed. However, the Supreme Court has not given a verdict yet.

Khowar is the mother tongue of 1,500,000 people in KP and Gilgit Baltistan. Besides, it is also spoken in some Central Asian states.