Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)-Pakistan - Bahadurabad Group- has sought the deferment of election schedule until the third party audit of selected blocks in national census is carried out. The party approached Election Commission of Pakistan here on Wednesday and sought its intervention for directing the federal government or any other relevant authority to conduct the thirty party audit of selected blocks equivalent to five percent of the population.
The party recalled that outgoing Federal Government agreed to conduct a third party audit of selected blocks up to 1% of the population, which was later agreed to be increased to 5% when MQM-(P) had lodged protests. "It was because of promise of the Federal Government that MQM-(P) agreed to vote for the delimitation Bill," a letter of the party signed by its Deputy Convener Kunwar Naveed Jameel noted.
However, despite the promise by the Federal Government that it would conduct a third party audit of the selected blocks up to 5% of the population, MQM(P) and the people at large have now come to know that the Federal Government has backtracked from its promise, refusing to conduct the third party audit of selected blocks up to 5%.
Bahadurabad group of the party also accused the PPP-led Sindh Government in the Province of Sindh, who it believed intentionally, in collusion with the federal government undercounted Karachi so as to marginalize Urban Sindh.
The idea is that through such pre-poll rigging, those who live in Urban Sindh, irrespective of their ethnicity, should artificially be forced to remain in a minority in Sindh, so that, despite being in actual majority, they are prohibited from forming a government in Sindh, it pointed out.
The party contested the figures of population of Karachi and stated that it is not and cannot be 16 million, as wrongfully recorded in the latest Census and it is believed to about 30 million.
The MQM-P noted that the current Census results are fundamentally erroneous, hence fair, free and honest elections cannot be held in the country upon such Census results. The Census results, as they stand today, amount to a pre-poll rigging and unless the same are appropriately rectified, so as to correctly reflect the population count, fair, free and honest elections under article 218(3) cannot be held in the country.
The letter mentioned that the ECP, under article 218(3) of the Constitution is the custodian and repository of public power to conduct free, fair and honest elections and pointed out that the illegality on the part of the federal and provincial Governments cropped up when without any justification the part Census results recorded in 2011 to 2013 were disbanded and fresh census was undertaken.
This was affected so as to undo the interim results that had been recorded, which were squarely beneficial to Urban Sindh, it added.
The party demanded that the electoral schedule for the general elections may be deferred until the audit is conducted and results are announced and also sought scrapping the present Census results by restoring the interim census results which were scrapped after 2012-13.