CCI to be approached to get representation in Census Commission
The upcoming census is an issue of life and death for Sindh and the Sindh government will not allow the centre to delay or postpone it, Qaim Ali Shah said on Monday.
“It is the considered opinion of the people of Sindh to conduct genuine and fair census and no games will be tolerated in this regard,” said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.
He was talking to a delegation of intellectuals led by PML-F MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, PML-N MPA Haji Shafi Jamote, nationalist leaders Syed Ghuam Shah, social worker Zulfikar Halipoto and Jawed Qazi. The meeting was attended by Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, Special Assistant to CM Waqar Mehdi, Najmi Alam, Commissioner Karachi Asif Haider Shah and Adl IG Mushtaq Maher.
The delegation observed that representation of Sindh had been denied in the Census Commission. “You [CM] must take up this issue in the CCI meeting,” they urged the chief minister. On this, the chief minister said that the CCI meeting had not been convened for the last nine months.
“I have sent at least three letters to the federal government for convening the CCI meeting so that the pending issues can be discussed but all my letters have fallen on the deaf ears,” he deplored and added that even then he would write a fourth one but this time directly to the prime minister who would understand the gravity of the situation.
The chief minister said that he had started forming ward committees for the census. “I would urge all the political forces to cooperate with our committees and give their input,” he said and added, “PPP Sindh has also convened an all parties conference on the issue of census on February 21 in which all political forces, including the nationalists will be invited to develop a consensus on this issue.”
The delegation and the chief minister were of the view that they would not allow the federal government to delay or postpone the census. They pointed out a statement of a federal minister that the skies would not fall if the census was postponed. They termed the statement a manifestation of immaturity and said, “skies will definitely fall if the census is postponed.”
The chief minister also constituted a committee with Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro and Mehtab Akbra Rashdi to take all the parliamentary forces into confidence on the issue of census.
“We are of the view that it must be conducted in a genuine way and in time. This is the question of life and death for the people of Sindh,” they said.