JI demands new census in Karachi

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said on Thursday that the population of Karachi was not 15 million but 30 million, and the city that generated 70 per cent revenue for the country was being meted out unjust treatment.

He expressed these views while addressing a demonstration at Star Gate on Sharea Faisal to protest against the census results and demand immediate local government elections in the city.

On the one hand, the Sindh governor said that in the past that the population of Karachi was not counted correctly in the census, but on the other hand, the federal cabinet approved the 2017 census results, the JI city chief said.

Criticising other parties, he said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan was only issuing statements on the matter and the Pakistan Peoples Party had no clear stance about the population of Karachi.

He demanded another census, establishment of new constituencies and immediate local bodies elections in Karachi. The JI city chief announced that his party would more demonstrations and sit-ins across the city in the coming days and a historic rally would be held on Sharea Faisal for ‘rights of Karachi’.

The increase in petrol, LPG and electricity prices by the federal government was reprehensible, Rehman said. He added that the PPP should also rise above its prejudices and provide jobs on a just basis.

The year 2020 had come to an end, but even in the new year there was no hope for the resolution of Karachi’s problems that had been increasing with each passing day, he remarked. The JI city chief also called for repealing the local government law in Sindh. He asserted that the JI’s movement for the rights of Karachi was for the speakers of diverse languages living in Karachi. He also criticised the quota system in Sindh, saying that it had deprived the youths of Karachi of jobs.