ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: When the Senate will go into session on Monday after a two-day recess, it may take up a resolution proposing division of quota for federal service jobs for Punjab into quotas for northern and southern regions of the province.

The resolution, jointly moved by Senator Sughra Imam of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and an independent senator sitting on the treasury benches, Mohsin Leghari, is the fifth item on the 16-point agenda issued for the session.

“This house recommends that the quota in government services reserved for the province of Punjab be allocated on regional basis (North Punjab and South Punjab) in order to guarantee due share of the people of South Punjab in those services,” says the resolution.

The resolution has come on the Senate agenda at a time when the government is set to move the 23rd Constitution Amendment Bill 2013 seeking an extension of 20 years in the period for allocation of provincial quota in federal services as given in the 1973 Constitution.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice had approved with a majority vote the draft of the 23rd Constitution Amendment Bill 2013 on November 27. It was tabled by the government in the National Assembly on August 28 after formal approval by the federal cabinet.

The Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was the only party that opposed the bill in the committee and its member S.A. Iqbal Qadri had also submitted a note of dissent with the committee’s report on the draft of the bill.

The MQM is opposed to quota system and terms it discriminatory and demands recruitments in all the federal government departments and organisations on merit. Its legislators on a number of occasions have opposed quota system on the floor of the assembly and the Senate.

The bill seeking amendment to Article 27(1) of the Constitution titled “Safeguard against discrimination in services” requires support of a two-thirds majority in both the houses of parliament.

For the past many years, the Senate has witnessed many protests by the members from the smaller provinces, particularly from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over the non-implementation of the job quota for their provinces.

The supporters of quota system, mainly the PPP and the ANP, believe that the system should continue till the time the people of backward provinces also get the facilities at par with the modern and big cities like Karachi and Lahore. They say that at the moment, the people of Sindh, Balochistan and other backward areas cannot compete with those acquiring education in good educational institutions in cities.

Like the people of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the people of south Punjab have also been complaining about a discriminatory treatment from the federation and during the previous PPP-led coalition government, the country saw a national debate on the issue of creation of a new south Punjab province. During its last days, the previous government had also managed to get a bill seeking creation of a new province in Punjab passed from the Senate.

The ruling PML-N is also supportive of the idea of a new province in Punjab and in its manifesto, the party has pledged to work for the creation of Bahawalpur, south Punjab and Hazara provinces.

The original 1973 constitution had fixed a period of 10 years for the provision of job quota for the provinces and the subsequent governments in the 1980s and 1990s enhanced it for 40 years and that period expired on August 13 this year.

It was through the 16th Constitution Amendment Act 1999, the last amendment carried out by the second Nawaz Sharif government before the October 1999 military coup by Gen Pervez Musharraf, that the period was extended from 20 years to 40 years.