Karachi, April 17, 2023 (PPI-OT):Member PPP Core Committee and Incharge of PPP Central Election Cell Senator Taj Haider has called the Jamaat-e-Islami allegation of PPP conniving with Federal Government to ‘manipulate’ Karachi’s population highly unfair. He reminded JI that on the directive of his leadership he had himself gone to the offices of JI and MQM and presented to him as also the MQM leadership his book “Sindh ka Muqadma, Census 2017” and supporting documents. Mohtaram Hafiz Naeem Sahib had himself received the material.
Senator Taj Haider said that the book in substantial detail dealt with the undercount of population in the entire province. Karachi being the capital of Sindh was focused upon and a chart of its population in 2013 as obtained from NADRA was printed on page 26. It was Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah who resisted all pressures to validate the controversial undercount of Census 2017. It was due to his efforts that the PTI government had to concede on the holding of a fresh census.
Unfortunately, Mohtaram Hafiz Sahib fails to recognize that Sindh also exists beyond Sohrab Goth. It was because of our protest that the PTI Government had to add a representative from Sindh in the 12-member Advisory Board on fresh census. However, the Pakistan Statistics Board had already prepared its mischievous working paper laying down its counting methodology as “dejure” and not “defacto”, thus repeating the conspiracy that had made Census 2017 controversial.
PPP continued to challenge this conspiracy. In a meeting in CM House held on 1st August 2022, Honourable Chief Minister convinced PBS that ‘defector’ methodology of count was the correct one, the questionnaire had to be simplified and the tablets being purchased were a waste of time and money. Subsequently CM Sindh held many meetings with the Federal Minister of Planning and Development, in which the logical stand of Sindh was reiterated. All these meetings were reported in national media.
Recently an all parties conference was hosted by PPP on the issue of Census. Four PPP Senators from Sindh submitted a resolution in the Senate on the issue, which after long delay is now before the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development. Census under-count is a very serious issue, which cannot be corrected if the present counting methodology and moth-eaten maps continue be used.
Senator Taj Haider said that using the figures of MICS survey conducted by UNICEF, Sindh’s population works out to be more than 64 million in place of 49 million as projected after 92% count. This can also be verified by NADRA figures although NADRA has yet to issue NICs to around 4% of the families. 35 billion spent on Census have gone down the drain. The days of playing mischief with figures are over. We have to jointly find reliable alternates. I hope the most respected JI leaders are listening this time around, said Senator Taj Haider.
For more information, contact:
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Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
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