Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal demanded re-conducting of census in Karachi, Hyderabad as he called the current census results ‘flawed’. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the PSP chairman said that the population of Karachi was not shown on the canvas in the census under a plan. “National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in its 2013 report mentioned that the population of Karachi was 20.14 million (mn) so how could it be reduced to 16 mn in 2018, according to the new census,” he questioned. The PSP chairman congratulated Imran Khan on assuming the office of the prime minister of Pakistan. He insisted that seven million people were left out of the census. “I request Prime Minister Imran Khan to declare results of Karachi and Hyderabad census as void,” he demanded. Mustafa Kamal said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) must win more seats from Karachi after another census, “We have no problem with it but you should not win the way you have won now,” he said. Furthermore, the ex-mayor likened the ‘flawed’ census results to an ‘ethnic cleansing’. He said that people across the country were coming to reside in Karachi and the ‘undercounting’ of the city’s population cut down a majority of those who migrated to Pakistan from India following partition. The PSP leader regretted that no audit of the census was conducted as promised earlier. The PSP leader also demanded that the PM authorise devolution of powers to all four local governments to all four local governments in order to ensure the ‘complete division of resources’. He said that a 19th amendment needed to be introduced in order to further devolve powers from provinces to districts just like the 18th amendment resulted in a devolvement of federal subjects to provinces. Mustafa Kamal said that there was a need to form the National Finance Commission and Provincial Finance Commission. “If all local governments and provincial governments are empowered, there will be prosperity in Imran Khan’s new Pakistan,” he added. He said that empowering local governments was crucial to progress. The PSP leader said that he hoped that Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui will raise the issue of missing Mohajir persons with the legal consent of Farogh Naseem just like Sardar Akhtar Maingal presented the case of missing persons in Balochistan in the parliament. The PSP chairman also shared that his party will be fully participating in the by-elections. “Those who think that PSP has diminished will be disappointed after July 25. We will be stronger than before,” he declared. “You cannot rule out disenfranchisement and sense of deprivation among people,” he added. Published in Daily Times, August 29th 2018.