KARACHI: Activists and supporters of Jamaat-i-Islami marched on Sharea Faisal on Sunday to protest against “flawed census” and “organised plan” to stop a Karachiite from becoming chief minister of the province by undercounting population of the metropolis.

Carrying placards and banners, waving party flags and raising slogans for the rights of Karachi, the protesters, including a large number women and children, who filled both sides of the road near Nursery bus stop, warned that any number below 35 million would draw strong reaction from the residents of the metropolis. The march lasted more than two hours.

Karachi JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who led the thousands of protesters from across the city, threw a challenge in his speech to federal authorities and institutions involved in the ongoing census exercise and leaders of ruling alliance to debate with him in public if anyone had any doubts about the Karachi population being less than 35 million.

“And this sea of people here on Sharea Faisal, who represents all ethnicities, sects, religions and national identities, show their mistrust in the ongoing census and they won’t accept any number of Karachi population below 35 million,” he said amid the crowd’s roar.

“And where are the so-called national leaders whether Imran Khan or Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari or Asfandyar Wali? Why don’t you speak up for the rights of Karachi and its people? Why don’t you visit and see the state of this city? Let me tell you loud and clear. The people of Karachi won’t forgive any of you if they are deceived again in the name of census,” he remarked.

He called it a criminal act on part of political parties representing Karachi not to play their role against the National Census 2017 which put with mala fide intention the city’s population at much less figure than the actual one. Now the same parties, he said, were “bargaining” again for their vested interests and were ready to accept the ongoing census with all its flaws.

“Isn’t it a joke that the city which is called business capital of the country is crying for jobs for its youths? Isn’t it a fraud that the city which caters to people from every part of the country is pushed against the wall for political gains and in the name of ethnic divide? This mindset will no more work and the JI will exercise its every legal, democratic and constitutional right to resist all anti-Karachi plans,” vowed JI leader.

He believed the actual headcount in the city would lead to increase in its provincial assembly seats from 44 to 65 seats, which might pave the way for the election of a Karachiite chief minister in a house of 130 seats and Pakistan People Party would definitely take it as its political suicide.

On the other hand, he said, number of households in rural areas of the province was being increased fraudulently to maximize the scope of corruption in the Benazir Income Support Program and other such projects. Progress of Karachi would directly result in the progress of Pakistan, he said and demanded the PPP treat Karachi like the rest of the province.

Highlighting the negligence, corruption and incompetence of the PPP government, he complained that startup incubators were available in Punjab but not in Sindh. Why no mega development project had been launched in Karachi, why there was no mass transit system in the city and why the entire city was in a shambles, he asked.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2023