New population census to precede 2023 elections: Asad

KARACHI: Minister for Planning Asad Umar on Saturday announced that the 2023 general elections will be held after a new population census is held, a longstanding demand of its coalition government partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

At a press conference in Karachi, the minister said the work on new population census would begin after approval from the Council of Common Interests (CCI). “Next election will take place on the basis of new population census and Imran Khan will be the first person to be re-Elected as Prime Minister in the next elections,” Umar said.

He said the government has set a target of completing the new population census by the beginning of 2023 after approval from CCI. Later delimitation of constituencies will be worked out. He then criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government, who he said collected census data itself and then protested against it on its own. Umar also said repairing Karachi roads and lifting garbage is the job of the provincial government and not the Centre.

He said five federal government projects are under way in Karachi. Work on the Green Line project has been completed. The buses will arrive till next week, he said. He indicated that the Green Line project would begin functioning in October.

He went on to say the economic future is linked to Karachi and national security is linked to the economic future because 50 per cent export was going through the industrial city.

Taking exception to PPP’s provincial government, he said the PPP came into power in the federation four times and has been in power in Sindh for the last 10 years. “But it has done nothing for Karachi,” he said.

Regarding the coronavirus vaccine, he said the federal government had provided jabs worth more than Rs10 billion to the Sindh government while the Sindh government had failed to purchase even a single dose of the jab.