SC tells MQM to file fresh petition against census

Dr Farooq Sattar demands fresh census in Sindh

ISLAMABAD:

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a case filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) against the 2017 national census and directed the petitioner Dr Farooq Sattar to file a new petition.

The bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam heard the MQM’s petition. During the hearing, MQM’s lawyer Salahuddin informed the court that the Registrar’s Office had objected to the petition, after which it was amended.

Sitting on the bench, Justice Muneeb Akhtar said it would be better that a fresh petition was filed. It had been a long time since the census was held, he added. Justice Mushir Alam also said that a new petition should be filed.

The lawyer also informed the bench that Dr Farooq Sattar was no longer with the MQM. Dr Sattar, who was present during the hearing, approached the bench and said that he wanted to say something to the court. He said there were constant injustice being meted out to the people, he told the court.

Justice Mushir Alam told Dr Sattar that his lawyer had already spoken. The court ruled that objections to the census should be raised in the new petition, adding that the census process was now complete.

Talking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Farooq Sattar expressed his dissatisfaction with the court’s decision. The court had asked for filing a new petition but “our position is that Sindh’s urban population is underrepresented”, he said.

“We put the evidence in court with the data. We identified all the errors in the census,” Dr Farooq Sattar told reporters. “This was the most controversial, rigged and sham census. Karachi’s population has always been underestimated in the census,” he added.

Dr Sattar demanded fresh census in Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities of Sindh. “If the problems of Karachi are to be resolved permanently, a transparent census should be conducted. This bias against the country’s biggest city must be stopped.”