ISLAMABAD, July 4: Busy in choosing persons for high offices “on merit”, the government appears to have lost sight of the fact that it has to decide by the middle of next month the fate of the provincial quota system provided in the constitution. The 1973 constitution had fixed a period of 10 years for the provincial job quota and the governments in the 1980s and ’90s extended it for 40 years that is going to expire on Aug 13.
The cabinet of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had decided in principle in its last meeting held on March 7 to extend the period for another 20 years (up to 2033), but the constitution will have to be amended for the purpose. This important provision has been one of the main causes of friction between the federation and small provinces.
If the government desires to retain the quota system it will have to amend Article 27(1) of the constitution titled “Safeguard against discrimination in services” soon to avoid a situation the country had faced in 1993 and 1999.
When the initial 10-year period expired in 1983, the military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq amended the constitution after a cabinet decision and extended the period to 20 years. This act was later provided a constitutional cover through the controversial Eight Amendment. The 20-year extended period expired in 1993 during the first government of Nawaz Sharif and the federal cabinet decided to continue with the job quota for provinces in federal government departments.
Despite the cabinet’s decision, the constitution was not amended till 1999 and politicians from smaller provinces still allege that during that period an imbalance was created in the allocation of jobs and it has still not been corrected even after the amendment.
Through the 16th Constitution Amendment Act 1999, the last amendment carried out by the second Nawaz government before the October 1999 military coup the period was extended from 20 to 40 years.
“It has been felt that since equal opportunity of education and other facilities are not yet available to all citizens of Pakistan, the period of 20 years specified in (c) of Article 27 ibid be extended to 40 years,” the ‘statement of objects and reasons’ of the amendment said.
Under the present formula, 7.5 per cent appointments in the federal government departments and institutions are made on the basis of merit. The quota for Punjab and Islamabad is 50 per cent, Sindh 19pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11.5pc, Balochistan 6pc, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Gilgit-Baltistan 4pc and Azad Kashmir 2pc.
When contacted, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said that so far the government had not found time to look into the constitutional matters because it had been busy dealing with crucial issues like the energy crisis, corruption and revival of economy. He said the issue would be taken up at an appropriate time.
“Surely, if a system has been working well, it should continue,” he said when asked about the stance of the government on the matter.
Syed Khursheed Shah, then Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, said the PPP would support such an amendment because it was much needed.
He said his party would itself introduce the amendment through a private member bill if the government tried to use delaying tactics.
Mr Shah said the previous PPP government had agreed in principle to extend the period for 10 to 20 years since the people in smaller provinces, particularly Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, still did not have equal opportunities to get education and other facilities.
Article 27 of the constitution says: “No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth: Provided that, for a period not exceeding (forty) years from the commencing day, posts may be reserved for persons belonging to any class or area to secure their adequate representation in the service of Pakistan.”