KARACHI: The opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-i-Islami on Monday came up with serious concerns over the ongoing process of digital census casting doubts over true outcome of the Karachi population.

The three parties held separate press conferencess to share their point of views over the ongoing mega exercise.

MQM-P seeks extension in deadline

The MQM-P urged the government to extend the deadline for registration of families in the digital census through “self-enumeration”, which is going to end on March 3, and vowed that any attempt to ‘manipulate’ the real number of Karachi population would lead to disaster on national level.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad, MQM-P leader Mustafa Kamal also demanded the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to issue the data of those who had been issued with computerised identity cards on Karachi addresses.

“We are also going to move a motion in the Senate seeking Nadra’s data of Karachi,” he said.

“This census is being conducted on the MQM-P’s demand. So we are one of the key stakeholders of this democratic and constitutional exercise. We are staying alert and cautious having serious reservations over the procedure of this census. Let me warn every patriotic Pakistani that if any foul play is made with this census, it would lead to great damage to entire Pakistan.”

He referred to several questions which were raised by the MQM on the mechanism of the census, but remained unanswered.

The true number of population of any city or town, he said, was first step for the key planning of development, poverty reduction measures and social reforms.

“If the state fails to count its people in true manner, how justice can be expected in providing all due rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan? So the real number of population is in fact implementation of Constitution in true spirit and any party which claims itself democratic should make efforts in this direction,” he said.

PTI takes credit of census

Addressing a press conference, PTI Karachi president Aftab Siddiqi said it was his party which while in power decided to conduct digital census for fixing the population of the country in general, and Karachi in particular.

“For that purpose, the PTI had allocated the huge Rs5 billion and invested heavily to acquire modern technologies for the swift and accurate results,” he said.

“But, since the process of this digital census has started, we have witnessed serious flaws in the app developed for this purpose and lack of resources which cast doubts over its efficiency. This all is being done to manipulate the real numbers. But, let me convey this very loud and clear that we would not accept any fraud this time in the name of digital census.”

JI says city’s future depends on fair census

The Jamaat-i-Islami on Monday warned that any “deception” in the ongoing digital census would not be tolerated as the future of the city was dependent on the fairness of the exercise.

Addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-i-Haq, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman referred to different reports which suggested that the census procedure allows masses to register themselves, but doesn’t provide any mechanism to confirm the registration of a person in the census.

“The government, the statistics department and other relevant agencies are claiming that they are not supposed to declare the counting on various levels. In this scenario, Karachiites are duly concerned and believe that their numbers will be under reported,” he said.

He demanded the government to simplify the procedure for the census and count each and every person where they are found. He also demanded of the government to devise a mechanism in order to allow citizens to check if they are registered or not.

Hafiz Naeem accused the Pakistan Peoples Party government in Sindh of pressurising the officials concerned to attest the doctored results of the local government polls in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2023