F.P. Report
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the actual population of Sindh is 64.4 million while the federal government has projected it at 57.6 million which showed that 6.8 million people have not been enumerated.
“This is not a small difference and the purpose of conducting a census within a period of five years (2017-2023) was to make accurate, foolproof, and scientific enumeration but this has also proved to be defective and unacceptable.”
This he said while addressing a press conference at CM House. He was flanked by Minister Information Sharjeel Memon, Syed Nasir Shah, and Murtaza Wahab.
Census: Talking about the Census-2023, the CM said that last night a meeting was held in Islamabad to which he was not invited but the chief secretary attended it. Without taking him into confidence, the meeting decided to close the exercise [census] from May 15, except in the Punjab.
Mr. Shah questioned if the census was meant to be conducted based on the growth rate, then there was no need to carry out such an expensive and gruesome exercise. “Under the law, the census is conducted after every 10 years,” he said and added that the last census was conducted in 2017 but it was defective, therefore on his hue and cry in the CCI the federal government decided to conduct it again in 2023.
“Now this census of 2023 is also proving to be defective and controversial, therefore the federal government must rectify its shortcomings to the extent of the satisfaction of the provincial governments,” he demanded and announced otherwise his government would have no option but to reject it. Murad Ali Shah showed some slides taken from the screens of the tablets given to the enumerators. The slide read `today is May 17, 2023 – the enumeration in the Block [ taluka Jati, District Sujawal] can be started between March 1 and 11, 2023.” He showed slides of different blocks, including Daro Satah of Tando Allahyar, Muradi of Shahdadkot, and Circle -9 of Umerkot where similar messages were written on the screen of the tablet on May 18, 2023.
The CM said that the enumerators who entered the data of the blocks were not being accepted by the Central data centers.
Sharing the data from the 2017 census, Murad Shah said that Punjab had a population of 109,989, 655 with 17,107,953 listed households (HH) showing the average size of a household at 6.43 members. In 2023 the projected population of Punjab was calculated at 123,375,402 with a 6.24 average size of a household.
In the census of 2017, the population of Sindh was 47,854,510 with 8,626,204 listed households. The average size of a household was 5.55 per household. In 2023 the projected population of the province is 57,665,774 with 10,256,995 listed households. The average size of a household comes to 5.62.
In 2017, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa household size was recorded at 7.13; now, in 2023, it has been projected at 6.92. In 2017 the average size of a household in Balochistan was 6.97 and now – in 2023, it has been projected at 6.26. Sindh’s population 3.17% annual growth, Punjab’s reduced, and Balochistan’s increased.
2017 Balochistan 6.7, Sindh 5.55.
Murad Ali Shah said that the population of Sindh was 64.4 million while they were showing it at 57.66 million which showed a shortfall of 6.8 million.
May 9 incident: Talking about violence and arson on May 9 in the aftermath of the arrest of PTI Chief Imran Khan, the chief minister said that it was unacceptable and would not be tolerated. “We would arrest each and every person involved in the violence,” he announced categorically.
The CM said that they torched the most important memorials of national pride such as the Chaghai monument built by Shaheed Bhutto, a warplane that had set a record for shooting down five Indian warplanes, Jinnah House (now Corps Commander residence) owned by Father of Nation.
“This was not simple violence, but a pre-planned plan and this insanity started from their top leadership,” he said. Talking about Karachi, Mr. Shah said they torched a Pedestrian bridge, a Ranger’s check post, a police mobile, a People Bus, two bousers of water, motorbikes, and trees and caused various other damages. “As far as the Sindh govt is concerned we would not spare any culprit involved in the arson,” he said.
NFC Award: Murad Ali Shah said that the last NFC award was given by the PPP government in 2010 and now it was outstanding. He added that once the census was completed in true letter and spirit its impact would fall on the NFC award.
To a question, Mr. Shah said that the illegal immigrants should also be counted once the nationals are enumerated so that the overall population, national and illegal, could be ascertained. Mr. Shah brushed aside the impression that it was MQM that had raised the issue of the defective census of 2017. “It was me who not only raised my voice through media talks and press statements but contested in the CCI,” he said.
Mayor of Karachi: The chief minister said that Pakistan Peoples Party has emerged as the single largest party in the city, therefore it would elect its mayor. “There will be our [PPP] Mayor in the city and people know we have served them, and they have acknowledged it through the ballot,” he said.
He said that PPP had won the largest number of votes in the 1970 election and after that, the people of this city who believed in the service of the PPP government in Sindh voted it in the local bodies elections. “If I start counting the record development of works his entire press conference time would be consumed in it,” he guessed and added that the roads, parks, flyovers, underpasses, storm water drains, hospitals, and various other development schemes initiated and completed by his government speak loud of his government’s performance and service to the people of this city.
Mr. Shah said that Jamaat Islami had not taken any seat in District Central in the local bodies elections of 2016. How they have won so many seats during these elections, but they have not emerged as the single largest party.
The CM, to a question, said that the PPP government did not believe in victimization or denying the rights of others. “Waseem Akhtar was in jail when he was brought out to contest the election for Mayor on August 25, 2016,” he recalled. He said that had the PPP not brought him out of jail, he would have not been elected.
Mr. Shah offered PTI elected representatives [councilors] facing the allegation of violence of May 9, 2023, to come out and surrender voluntarily so that justice could be done with them.
Water shortage: Taking up the issue of water shortage, Murad Ali Shah said that Sindh was not receiving its due share [of the water]. He lamented that when water was abundant, his province was flooded, and when its shortage occurred, Sindh was denied its share.
The chief minister urged the IRSA to release the due share of the province so that Kharif crops would be cultivated in time and those that have been planted could be saved from turning pale. (PPI)
