KARACHI: Congratulating Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan on becoming the country’s chief executive, Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday demanded that the results of the sixth population census in Karachi and Hyderabad be declared null and void and the PM order a fresh exercise.

Mr Kamal, whose party lost the July 25 elections, also claimed that the PSP had become “stronger than ever before” and it would take part in all by-elections, including the one on NA-243.

Speaking at a press conference at the PSP headquarters, Pakistan House, Mr Kamal congratulated PM Khan and said that he did not want to question the victory of any party in the general election.

Accompanied by party president Anis Kaimkhani, he said that ‘injustices’ meted out to the people of Karachi could be gauged from the fact that over seven million inhabitants of the metropolis were not counted in the population census.

He said the general elections were held on the basis of an “incomplete census” in which the population of Karachi was shown less compared to other cities of the country.

Vows to contest all by-polls strongly

“Our people and houses had not been counted [in the census],” he said. “This is an organised genocide of the people of Karachi.”

He said that the census undercount would result in provision of meagre resources to Karachi and its people, as based on the flawed census results, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had already declared that the overall demand of water in Karachi was a mere 800 million gallons daily.

The PSP chief said Karachi would have additional 15 to 17 National Assembly seats and 35 to 40 provincial assembly seats had the census been conducted in a fair manner.

He said the data submitted by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in 2013 on a request of a Pakistan Peoples Party senator put the population of Karachi at 25 million.

He requested the prime minister to give his viewpoint on the serious issue and take immediate steps to end this injustice.

Call to strengthen local governments

He reminded PM Khan that whenever the issue of creation of more provinces was raised in the country he always insisted that it was not the solution of problems as devolution of powers to district government was more important.

He said the PTI had its provincial government in three of the four provinces and PM Khan should issue a notification to transfer powers to local government representatives to enforce a latest LG system.

Mr Kamal called upon the PM to transfer complete powers and resources to local governments in all the four provinces.

He also said that all provincial governments must issue a Provincial Finance Commission award on the basis of the National Finance Commission award for effective resource distribution.

MQM-P asked to raise missing persons’ issue

Specifically addressing Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s convener and a federal minister, he said that he should raise the issue of “missing Mohajirs” in the National Assembly like veteran politician Akhtar Mengal who presented the case of Balochistan’s missing persons.

He said his party would provide Dr Siddiqui a list of missing persons if he did not have it.

The PSP chief said Federal Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim, also an MQM nominee, should find a legal way out for the youths of Karachi so that they should be given a general amnesty on the pattern of a similar scheme for the youths of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2018