Kamal seeks PM’s comments on Karachi population

KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to give his comments on the controversial results of the 2017 population census in Karachi in which, according to him, at least 7 million people were left uncounted.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a PSP election office in Gulshan-e-Iqbal for by-elections on NA-243 (East-II), Kamal said on Saturday that the alleged manipulation in the census amounts to depriving the metropolis of its 15 National Assembly seats.

Karachi’s population was recorded at over 16 million in last year’s census, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. On the basis of this figure, one NA and two provincial assembly seats were added to the city’s parliamentary representation in the delimitations.

“No one other than PSP knows the problems of Karachi and only it can solve them whether today or a year later,” Kamal said.

“It is our learning phase. The sooner we pass this, the sooner we will achieve our goal.”

The PSP chief said MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui should raise the matter of missing persons in the Parliament. “300 mothers are still looking for their sons to come back home,” he said.

“I am waiting for Siddiqui’s speech [on this] and his efforts to get pardon for the missing and incarcerated youth.”

He said the PSP will put up banners across the city to thank Siddiqui if he is able to do so.

Taking a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for its ‘PM from Karachi’ campaign, he said that just four days after the election, the PM chose to represent Mianwali and not the city which voted for him against all odds.

Citing examples of New York City and London, he asked the PM to get the municipal powers to the mayors across the country.

He claimed that PTI has won in Karachi because of his party.

Having faced a failure in last month’s general elections, PSP hopes to gain seats in by-polls. The party’s Muzammil Qureshi, Asif Hasnain, Hassan Sabir and Salman Rahim have submitted their nomination forms for NA-243, while for PS-87 (Malir-I), Zubair Jan, Rao Zubair and Salim Jokhio are in the race to get the party ticket. The by-election on these seats will be held on October 10.