GILGIT, April 3: Social workers have criticized the Capital Development Authority and accused it of discriminating against the people of the Northern Areas for avoiding the mention of the Northern Areas’ job quota in its advertisements.

The chief of the Northern Areas Employees Welfare Association, Mohammad Afzal, said that the Establishment Division had decided in 1973 to fix a four-per cent job quota for recruitment in posts falling under the federal government for applicants from the Northern Areas and Fata. Azad Kashmir had been allocated a two-per cent quota.

He said that CDA recently posted an advertisements calling in applications for 354 posts in its fire headquarters. He said that only two posts (telephone/wireless operators) had been reserved for the AJK and the Northern Areas. He pointed out that Northern Areas’ job quota was included with Fata and not with the AJK.

Mr Afzal said that the association had recently sent an application to the deputy director-general (Admin) of the CDA to remind him that the federal government had fixed the quota a long time ago and if it was not respected, it would tantamount to discrimination.

He said that the CDA administration had taken the plea that ther was no difference between the Northern Areas and the Federally-Administered Northern Areas, adding that both were the same.

He said that the Northern Areas was a separate entity under the administrative control of the federal government and it had nothing to do with the Fata.

Mr Afzal said that if this tendency continued, no federal department would consider the job quota for the Northern Areas.

He urged the federal government to ensure upon the implementation of its policy regarding jobs distribution the recruitment in government posts.