Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has alerted the federal government on Monday saying that forthcoming census is the issue of life and death for Sindh hence there must be no delay or postponement in genuine and fair census.
"People of Sindh will not tolerate any game into the genuine census," Shah said while talking to a delegation of intellectuals led by PMLF MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, PMLN MPA Haji Shafi Jamote, nationalist leaders Syed Ghulam Shah, social worker Zulfikar Halipoto and Jawed Qazi. The meeting was also attended by Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, Special Assistant to CM Waqar Mehdi, Najmi Alam, Commissioner Karachi Asif Haider Shah and Additional IG Mushtaq Maher.
The delegation apprised him of the fact Sindh was denied representation in Census Commission therefore he (CM) must take up this issue at CCI meeting. On this, the chief minister said that the CCI meeting was not convened for 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 said that even then he would write fourth letter but this time directly to the prime minister who was
kind enough and would understand the gravity of the situation. Qaim Ali Shah said he began forming ward committees for census. He urged all the political forces to cooperate with those committees and give their input also. "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," he told them.
The delegation and the chief minister were of common 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 be fallen if the Census was postponed. They termed the statement as a manifestation of immaturity because to them skies would definitely fall if the census was postponed."
The chief minister also constituted a committee with Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro and Mehtab Akbar Rashdi to take all the parliamentary forces into confidence on the issue of census. They stressed that Census must be conducted on time and in a genuine way because to them this is the question of life and death for the people of Sindh.