MQM-P rejects delimitation of new constituencies

Party plans to take up matter with the prime minister if data from 2017 is used for the latest delimitations

KARACHI:

Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQM-P), a coalition party of the new federal government appears to have reiterated its position on the political spectrum with the rejection of the new constituencies formed per the 2017 census.

It should be noted that data from the 2017 census had left a sour taste in the mouths of MQM Pakistan and the ruling Sindh government. The biggest objection in the case had been in regard to Karachi’s population, which they alleged had been severely underrepresented in the numbers.

Whereas, the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, unbeknownst to its fate, had announced a new census in the country this year. Work on the census is still going on despite the political upheaval in the country. This, much to the dismay of MQM-P, also includes the formation of new constituencies based on the 2017 census, which the party has protested.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan, undeterred by MQM-P’s grievances, has also decided to go ahead with the plan. According to the schedule, the new constituencies are expected to be finalised by the Election Commission by August 3 of this year.

At the official level, it is being said that constituencies are being drawn on the basis of the 2017 census in view of the upcoming general elections that are just around the corner. According to MQM Pakistan leader and Sindh Assembly member Muhammad Hussain, the term of the new general election is almost one-and-a-half years away, that’s why work on new constituencies needs to start so soon. He said that MQM-P never recognised the results of the 2017 census. “The previous government had decided to hold a new census this year at the behest of the MQM while the MQM has also reached a written agreement with the current government for a new census. This is why constituencies should be based on the new census, rather than relying on the contested data from 2017,” he expressed, adding that they have not dropped the matter and that his party plans to formally take up the issue with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Read More: Sindh govt told to reply to MQM-P, JI petitions

On the other hand, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader from Karachi Waqar Mehdi revealed that the Sindh Chief Minister had written a letter to former Prime Minister Imran Khan on the issue of the 2017 census and expressed his serious concerns over it. “However, the 2017 census was officially notified after the approval of the Council of Common Interests, that is why new constituencies are being formed on this basis. Meanwhile, work is underway at the government level to conduct a new census in the country. In this regard, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, NADRA, and other federal agencies are engaged in preparations,” he told.

Commenting on the matter, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Atiq-ur-Rehman said that it is for the first time that a digital census is being conducted in the country, which he believes will streamline the process. “Over 120,000 tablets would be provided to enumerators who would record the data in the central software at the same time. The new census is scheduled to be completed in December this year, but it could be delayed by a month or two,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2022.