PTI announces protests against digital census

Says people in the slums of Karachi have not been counted

KARACHI:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will initiate series of protests against the digital census, said PTI Karachi President Aftab Siddiqui while addressing a press conference at Insaf House on Tuesday.

"It is the responsibility of all citizens of Karachi to raise their voices over the census in which population of Karachi was under-counted," Siddiqui said adding, "It will be a criminal act to remain silent on this skewed and gerrymandered headcount."

He claimed that the 1997 and the 2017 census also went wrong and so did the 2023 digital headcount.

"The rural population in Sindh has increased by five million. How it is possible that population of Karachi did not increase at the same pace," Siddiqui said adding consequences of under-counting will result in lesser funds for the next 10 years, lesser share in the quota of gas, electricity and jobs.

He said that if MQM-P is really the champion of the rights of Karachi, it should quit the government instead of complaining about census figures. As for Jamaat-e-Islami, he said, "We have also discussed this issue with Jamaat."

Siddiqui said that on April 27 and 28, demonstrations against the census will be held at the district level in Karachi and a seminar will be held on April 29 where all stakeholders will be invited.

Finally, there will be a protest in Hyderi Market in North Nazimabad on May 1, he said.

He said that stakeholders of Karachi will participate in the March 29 seminar.

Besides anomalies defying the laws of statistics, the PTI Karachi chief said, people in the slums of Karachi were not counted.

PPP does not want anyone from Karachi to become Chief Minister while 95 per cent tax is collected from Karachi. He said that although the Centre will increase Karachi's share in National Finance Commission (NFC), the PPP-led government will not increase the city's share in in Provincial Finance Commission (PFC).

PTI Karachi General Secretary Arslan Taj and Advisor to President Karachi Shehzad Qureshi, Deputy Secretary Information Karachi Falak Almas and Shazia Jafarani were also present on this occasion.

Arsalan Taj said in a conversation with the media that how is it possible that the population of Karachi has not increased at the same pace as that of Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

Taj said that it was a ploy of PPP to show the population of Karachi lesser because they do not want to give its rights. Increasing the population will translate into more provincial and national assembly seats from the city, he explained.

As for MQM-P, he said, the party claiming to be the representative of the urban populace of Sindh was held hostage by the rulers due to its 'files'.

Taj said that Karachi is not begging; it is asking for its due right. He said that 400,000 people make up a provincial assembly constituency and as many people can be seen in a market during Eid shopping.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2023.