• Khalid Maqbool writes to planning & development minister
• Warns Centre of rejecting census results if numbers are not ‘corrected’

KARACHI: In a fresh attempt to “correct the numbers” of the population count mainly in Karachi and other urban centres of Sindh, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has approached the federal government, warning it if the numbers are not “corrected” it would “reject” the results of the census.

The party, this time, spotted Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal to bring its reservations, complaints and concerns over the 7th population census on record.

In a letter sent to Mr Iqbal, the party also referred to the factual position that emerged through the initial results of the census, citing data which suggested serious “manipulation” in the overall exercise.

“There are a number of examples of manipulation in the population count,” wrote MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in the letter, a copy of which was also sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

He explained that in different areas of Sindh, the numbers were incredibly high. “For example, the increase of population in rural districts of Jacobabad was 49.03 per cent, Kashmore (38.98pc), Shikar­pur (36.55pc), Larkana (25.5pc), Sukkur (28.90pc), Khair­pur (23.31pc), Sanghar (2 1.80pc), Sujawal (22.83pc), Umerkot (23.54pc) and Tharparker (23.51pc) defies all demographic logic,” reads the letter.

Dr Siddiqui’s concerns came against the backdrop of the numbers which kept increasing after multiple extension in the deadline for the enumeration process, and the fact that even the deployment of special teams of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to carry out surveys failed to lift the population number of Karachi significantly.

The deadline of the census was extended multiple times since it was officially started on March 1 amid growing complaints and protests of political parties having electoral mandate in Karachi as the population of the city remained the basic bone of contention that emerged out of the 2017 census.

Initial reports suggested that the headcount of Karachi was still far from touching the 20 million mark as officials believed the final count of the people living in the metropolis will not be over 19m when the mega exercise ended last month.

The MQM-P’s fresh letter to the authorities questioned the mechanism of the whole exercise which it believed defied “all demographic logics”.

“Against this huge increase in rural districts, the increase in numbers of urban districts is incredibly low despite a huge migration from all provinces of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and many regional countries,” Mr Siddiqui stated. “For example, the increase in Karachi’s district West was 13.83pc, Karachi South (10.52pc), Karachi East (16.08pc) and Hyderabad (18.57pc).”

The MQM-P leader alleged that these numbers reflected mala fide intent to suppress population in urban areas and inflate it in rural areas to deprive the people of urban areas of their political and economic rights.

It also proposed a post-enumeration audit utilising technology for checking the numbers and the mechanism of the census, which had created more controversies than giving solutions.

It warned that in the absence of all such things it would not be possible for the party to give its nod for the final results.

“A serious effort is required to correct the numbers through a post-enumeration survey audit and use of technology,” said Dr Siddiqui.

“Let me reiterate here that current numbers are not acceptable and if they are not corrected, the results of the 7th population census will be rejected outright by the people of Karachi, Hyderabad, the MQM-P and all other political and civil society stakeholders,” he declared.

The party, which has insisted time and again that Karachi’s population is around 35m, appreciated the efforts of Mr Iqbal’s ministry for being responsive and hoped that he would address their concerns.

“We appreciate that you and census organisation have been very responsive all along in addressing the complaints, with a clear intent to keep the population count fair and transparent. I am sure you will address the serious anomalies mentioned above,” wrote Mr Siddiqui.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2023