MQM-P shares ‘proof of flaws’ in census

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has shared with authorities the evidence of the flaws in the census that took place in urban areas of Sindh, the part‎y's senior deputy convener, Mustafa Kamal said on Thursday. The evidence included information from Nadra, the statistics authority and K-Electric.

Kamal stated that the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) had identified 32,000 high-rise buildings and 7,000 blocks in Karachi where census staff had not gone or the number of persons had been undercounted, he said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

He stated that Nadra had confirmed that more than 19.1 million ID cards and B-forms had been issued at Karachi addresses.

MQM-P pointed out that despite there being around 200 houses in each census block, the results showed 860 blocks with only one person in each house, totaling a population of only 200 people.

Moreover, K-Electric's records indicate that the number of residential electricity metres was above 3.4 million, with 25 per cent of the city's population without a metre but still using electricity. However, the household census shows only 2.9 million houses.

Kamal also criticised the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not being as proactive as MQM in fighting for the rights of Sindh. He called on other political parties to prioritise the welfare of the people.

Deputy Convenor Anees Qaimkhani and members of the MQM-P's coordination committee were also present at the press conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2023.