Senator Mohsin Leghari. PHOTO: FILE
While Parliament has not yet provided any legal cover to the government’s decision to extend the regional quota system for direct recruitment by 20 years, a senator from South Punjab has submitted a proposed amendment bill to further sub-allocate quotas of jobs reserved for Punjab on the basis of the South Punjab formula.
According to the proposed bill, the existing 50% quota for federal services jobs in Punjab should be further divided and sub-allocated with 17.5% for South Punjab and 32.5% for the rest of Punjab, including the provincial capital.
The federal cabinet on July 25, 2013 granted a 20-year extension to the time-bound provincial quota in federal services that expired on August 13, 2013. It also approved measures to amend Article 27 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan but, despite the lapse of a few months, parliament is yet to pass a 23rd Constitutional amendment about the said article.
The quota system draws its strength and basis from Article 27 (1) of the constitution, which allocates quotas in government jobs to the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Similar quotas are prescribed for minorities, women and other marginalised segments of society. The quota for 10 years which was fixed in 1973 had been extended for another 10 years in 1983. It was again extended in 1993 for 20 years which expired on August 13, 2013.
Independent senator from South Punjab, Mohsin Leghari, moved his proposed amendment bill in the upper house, saying that there is no constitutional cover for the quota system. This puts a question mark on the allocation of recent successful candidates who have passed their Central Superior Services (CSS) examination, according to him.
He said that till Article 27 (1) is amended by a two-thirds majority from the National Assembly and Senate, the cabinet has given its approval to the extension for another 20 years. The Senate has put his proposed bill as its agenda on Monday (January 6). He said his bill is related to the 23rd constitutional amendment bill about Article 27 (1), and that he wishes to see the passage of both bills from parliament in no time.
Proposed amendment bill
There are two objectives of the bill. The first is to sub-divide the jobs quota for South Punjab, with the second being the provision of legal cover to the allocated federal services jobs to provinces and regions.
The Civil Servants Act 1973 (Act LXXI of 1973) provides details of the jobs quota to provinces and regions in light of Article 27 (1). However, no specific clause of the CSA 1973 describes the distribution of job quotas to provinces and regions except a letter which was issued by the Establishment Division on August 31, 1973.
The proposed amendment bill suggests the insertion of clause 5A in the CSA 1973, which suggests a formula-based distribution of jobs to provinces and regions which not only empower the parliament to decide the quota system over the executive/establishment division letter but also demand a 17.5% quota for South Punjab.
In the original CSA 1973, Section 5 on appointments does not specify the details of the quota or regional representation in government service. The necessity of the proposed amendment is to give due representation to the underrepresented area as envisioned in Article 27 (1) of the constitution.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2014.
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