Chief Minister Murad of Sindh has threatened to reject census results unless concerns about an undercount of the province’s population are addressed.
In a press conference held in KARACHI, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah accused the federal government of undercounting the population of Sindh province and threatened to reject the recent census if the federal government did not address the province’s concerns.
The federal government estimates the population of Sindh to be 57.6 million, but the province’s real population is 64.4 million. This indicates that 6.8 million individuals have not been counted. Shah said at a Thursday press conference, “This is not a minor distinction.”
He stated that the latest census had proven to be flawed and unacceptable, despite the fact that the goal of performing a census within a period of five years was to make accurate, failsafe, and scientific enumeration.
According to the Prime Minister, a meeting was held in Islamabad last night, but he was not invited. However, the Chief Secretary was present. He said that the committee had resolved, without consulting him, to end the census on all territories other than Punjab as of May 15.
According to Shah, there is no need to conduct such a costly effort if the census is to be conducted on the basis of population growth rate.
The census must be taken every ten years because of the legislation. After raising a stink about the flawed results of the 2017 census in the Council of Common Interest (CCI), the federal government has declared that a new census would be performed in 2023 [ahead of voting].
It appears that the 2023 census is flawed and divisive as well. Therefore, he argued, the federal government must fix its flaws to the provinces’ satisfaction.
His government would have to reject it if it was presented to them, he said.
During his talk, Shah showed slides with screenshots from enumerators’ tablets, which demonstrated a disturbing trend. An eye-catching presentation read, “Today is May 17, 2023 – the enumeration in Block [Taluka Jati, District Sujawal] can be started between March 1 and 11, 2023.”
On May 18, 2023, tablets in a number of different areas displayed messages that were eerily similar. These areas included Daro Satah in Tando Allahyar, Muradi in Shahdadkot, and Circle-9 in Umerkot.
The PM voiced concern that enumerators’ data for these blocks was being rejected by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ (PBS) central data centers.
Shah said that the 2017 census found a total population of 109,986,655 in Punjab, with 17,107,953 houses. On average, there are 6.43 people living in each of these homes.
Based on a median household size of 6.24 people in 2023, the estimated population of Punjab is 123,375,402. A total of 47,854,510 people and 8,626,204 households were counted during the 2017 census in Sindh. There were 5.55 people per home on average.
In 2023, the province is expected to have a population of 57,665,774, with 10,256,995 houses. On average, each of these homes will be home to 5.62 people.
In contrast to the PBS’s estimate of 57.66 million, Shah claimed that Sindh’s population was 64,4 million. He said that the census hadn’t included all of Karachi’s neighborhoods.
He stated that the PPP administration of Pakistan presented the most recent National Finance Commission (NFC) award in 2010 and that it has been exceptional ever since. The NFC reward will reflect the accuracy of the census, he said.
When asked whether the illegal immigrants should be counted among the nationals, Shah replied that they should be.
Shah dispelled the notion that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was responsible for bringing attention to the census’s flaws. “It was me who brought up the issue at the CCI as well as in media talks and press statements,” he stated.
