- Mustafa Kamal demands third-party audit of census
- Asks CM Murad to take stand for Karachi
KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday challenged the results of the census in Supreme Court.
The submitted petition stated that according to National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the registered number of people in Karachi is 20.15 million but the census showed the population in Karachi to be 10.60 million.
The census was not conducted in many parts of the metropolitan city, the petition added.
The petition further claimed that population of Karachi was undercounted deliberately, adding that the census authority did not seek assistance from NADRA before conducting the census.
PSP chief in his petition requested for a third-party audit of the census, adding that there should be an increase in provincial and national assembly seats for Karachi. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, federal government, NADRA chairman and others have been named as respondents in the case.
Talking to journalists at the top court’s Karachi registry, Kamal said that his party had reservations over the census results. He said the party approached the SC setting aside political overtones.
Kamal pointed out that the “incorrect census data” was unjust for both Karachi and Pakistan, adding that Karachi had constituted the nation’s economic lifeline, but was still treated in a step-motherly fashion. He added that it was baffling to see that the city’s population had decreased rather than rising.
Calling the figures deliberately understated, he said, “Millions of residents of Karachi have not been accounted for.”
‘CM SHOULD TAKE STAND’:
The PSP chief asked Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to take a stand for Karachi which was his obligation as the representative of the province. He accused Murad of having done a disservice to Sindh.
“Karachi’s share in the budget will decline due to the understated figures. The authorities will struggle to function due to paucity of funds,” Kamal said, predicting that the situation will become worse in the future.
He urged Murad to take personal interest in remedying the problem. The PSP chairman requested Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of census findings on Karachi’s population.
