KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said on Monday that the forthcoming census is the issue of life and death for Sindh and we would not allow federal government to delay or postpone the census.
It is the considered opinion of people of Sindh to conduct genuine and fair census and no game into it would be tolerated, he added.
This was stated by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while talking to a delegation of intellectuals led by PML-F MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, PML-N MPA Haji Shafi Jamote, nationalist leaders Syed Ghuam Shah, social worker Zulfikar Halipoto and Jawed Qazi. The meeting was attended by Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, Special Assistant to CM Waqar Mehdi, Najmi Alam, Commissioner Karachi Asif Haider Shah and Adl IG Mushtaq Maher.
The delegation observed that in the census commission representation of Sindh has been denied. “You {CM} must take up this issue in CCI meeting,” they urged the chief minister. On this the chief minister said that the CCI meeting has not been convened from last nine months. “I have sent at least three letters to the federal government for convening the CCI meeting so that the pending issues could be discussed but all my letters have fallen on the deaf ears,” he deplored and added that even then he would write a fourth letter but this time directly to prime minister who is kind enough and would understand the gravity of the situation.
The chief minister said that he has started forming ward committees for census. “I would urge all the political forces to cooperate with our committees and give their input also,” he said and added that “PPP Sindh has also convened an all parties conference on the issue of census on February 21 in which all political forces, including the nationalists would be invited to develop a consensus on this issue.
The delegation and the chief minister were of the view that they would not allow federal government to delay or postpone the census. They pointed out a statement of a federal minister that the skies would not fallen if the census was postponed. They termed the statement as a manifestation of immaturity sand said `skies would definitely fall if the census is postponed.”
The chief minister also constituted a committee with Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro and Mehtab Akbra Rashdi to take all the parliamentary forces into confidence on the issue of census. “We are of the view that it must be conducted in a genuine way and in time. This is the question of life and death for the people of Sindh,” they said.
