JI leader demands census data be made accessible to stakeholders of Karachi

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who claim to have the mandate of Karachi played a key role in legalising the flawed results of the 2017 census.

Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said this while addressing an Iftar party on Wednesday hosted by the party in the honour of the journalist fraternity of Karachi.He said that both the MQM-P and PTI sold out the mandate of Karachi for petty interests.

Criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), he said the PPP criticised the process of enumeration for showing less population of Sindh but it never admitted that the populace of Karachi was understated.

The JI leader said that according to available insights and reports, the authorities were mulling to understate the population of Karachi once again in the 7th census.Rehman said the injustice against Karachi and its people started with the flaws in the census process. On the basis of inaccurate and understated statistics, the city received reduced share in resources and jobs quotas, he added.

He said an accurate census would bring in a balance between the urban and rural areas of the Sindh province.He declared that the people of Karachi would not accept any more deception in the name of the digital census and demanded that the government provide the stakeholders of the city the access to the data of the census in order to ensure transparency in the process of enumeration.

Talking about the local government elections, he said the PPP had sailed past the MQM when it came to post-poll rigging. He said the PPP would have to accept the mandate of the JI or else it would push society towards chaos.