ISLAMABAD: Due to opposition from some members of the ruling party, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat could not give a clear cut decision about the allocation of a separate quota in jobs in the federal government service for those holding a domicile from Islamabad.

The committee met on Monday at Parliament House with MNA Rana Mohammad Hayat Khan in the chair and discussed a resolution moved by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Asad Umar.

The mover of the resolution pleaded that those with a domicile from Islamabad should be given a separate job quota in federal government ministries, divisions and organisations, much like provincial quotas.

“How strange is it that Islamabad, which houses ministries and other financial institutions, does not have job quotas for its domicile holders. It is not logical and is unjust to residents of Islamabad,” the PTI leader said.

PML-N MNAs oppose resolution moved by PTI’s Asad Umar, say Islamabad residents get more than their fair share of jobs

Currently, Islamabad is given a share in the joint quota for Punjab and Islamabad in federal government jobs.

“Linking Islamabad with Punjab is also an anti-federation step,” he said.

In response to his argument, PML-N lawmakers Syed Javed Ali Shah and Sardar Mansab Ali Dogar said that residents of Islamabad are already getting more than their share of jobs in federal government departments.

“If I talk about class four level jobs, the locals of Islamabad get a bigger share than our people,” MNA Shah said.

However, the ruling party’s lawmaker from Islamabad Farhana Qamar supported Mr Umar’s views and demanded a separate quota for residents of the federal capital.

During the meeting, a representative of the establishment division said residents of Islamabad get a job quota of almost 25pc in Islamabad Capital Territory administration department to which the mover of the resolution said this is a small organisation.

The committee chairman said it will be difficult to determine a job quota for Islamabad before the completion of the census.

“Let the committee discuss the issue again in the next meeting,” the chairman said before winding up the debate on the issue.

The committee also discussed the Pakistan Baitul Mal’s failure to distribute Rashan among the poor during Ramazan. The Baitul Mal’s Managing Director Abid Waheed Sheikh told the committee that due to budgetary constraints, he had to cancel the program for the time being and that available funds were utilised for medical treatment for the poor.

He said that before Ramazan, the Baitul Mal was in need of Rs1.1 billion for disposing of pending individual financial assistance medical cases.

The committee, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the non-distribution of Rashan and said stringent measures should be adopted to ensure Ramazan Package is distributed each year. The committee directed the Baitul Mal to give equal preference to all districts when providing financial assistance to the needy as it has been noticed that most of the beneficiaries come from the same few districts.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said he had asked the prime minister for an increase in the Baitul Mal’s budget so it can provide medical treatment to poor patients. He said he had argued that the construction of motorways is necessary but this was also important.

He said the government had increased funding for the fiscal year 2017-18 as Rs6 billion had been earmarked before when the demand was Rs8 billion.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017