KARACHI: Pakistan People Peoples Party leader Senator Taj Haider on Monday said the Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) allegation that the PPP was trying to ‘manipulate’ Karachi’s population was unfair.
The PP leader, in a statement, reminded the JI that on the directive of his leadership he had visited the offices of JI and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and presented them his book “Sindh ka Muqadma, Census 2017” and supporting documents.
Hafiz Naeem Sahib had himself received the material, he added.
Senator Taj said the book in substantial detail dealt with the undercount of population in the entire province. Karachi being the capital of Sindh was focused upon and a chart of its population in 2013 as obtained from the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) was printed on its page 26.
He said it was Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who resisted pressure to validate the controversial undercount of Census 2017. It was due to his efforts that the then Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had to agree on holding a fresh census.
Unfortunately, he said, “Hafiz Naeem does not realize that Sindh also exists beyond Sohrab Goth.” However, it was because of PPP’s protest that the PTI government had to add a representative from Sindh in the 12 member Advisory Board on fresh census.
The Pakistan Statistics Board (PBS), he alleged, had already prepared its mischievous working paper laying down its counting methodology as “de jure” and not “de facto”, thus repeating the conspiracy that had made the Census 2017 controversial.
The PPP, he added, persistently challenged that conspiracy. In a meeting at the CM House held on August 1, 2022, the Sindh chief minister convinced the PBS that ‘de facto’ methodology of count was the correct one, the questionnaire had to be simplified and the tablets being purchased were a waste of time and money. Subsequently, the CM held many meetings with the Federal Minister of Planning & Development, in which the logical stand of Sindh was reiterated. All those meetings were reported in national media.
He said recently an all parties conference was hosted by the PPP on the issue of census. Four PPP senators from Sindh submitted a resolution in the Senate on the issue, which after long delay was now before its Standing Committee on Planning & Development, he added.
Senator Taj said census undercount was a very serious issue, which could not be corrected if the present counting methodology and moth-eaten maps continued be used.
He said using the figures of MICS survey conducted by UNICEF, “Sindh’s population works out to be more than 64 million in place of 49 million as projected after 92 percent count. This can also be verified by NADRA figures although NADRA has yet to issue national identity cards to around 4 percent of the families. Some Rs 35 billion spent on census have gone down the drain.”
“The days of playing mischief with figures are over. We have to jointly find reliable alternates. I hope the most respected JI leaders are listening this time around,” Senator Taj concluded.
