5 percent minority Quota falls short across federal ministries

A parliamentary minorities caucus raised serious concern over major shortfalls in the 5 percent minority recruitment quota across

Islamabad: A parliamentary minorities caucus raised serious concern over major shortfalls in the 5 percent minority recruitment quota across federal ministries. Lawmakers noted that thousands of qualified minority graduates remain unemployed despite rules requiring unfilled quota posts to be carried forward.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Minorities, led by Senator Danesh Kumar, took up the issue of minority rights, workplace discrimination and the implementation of the recruitment quota during its meeting.

MNA Ramesh Lal strongly rejected claims that there are not enough qualified minority candidates for posts in BPS 16 and above. He said thousands of highly qualified minority graduates are still without jobs because federal ministries are not making enough effort to fill the reserved positions.

The Director General Human Rights told the caucus that constitutional guarantees under Article 27 and Establishment Division instructions issued in 2009 and 2020 require unfilled minority quota positions to be carried forward. However, the official said implementation remains a major challenge.

Senator Danesh Kumar also raised concern over what he described as discriminatory language in some recruitment advertisements.

He questioned why advertisements for low grade jobs such as sweepers sometimes specifically state that the posts are only for non Muslim candidates.

Minister of State Kesoo Mal Kheal Das supported the concerns and stressed that government policy should ensure proper outreach and coordination so minority quota positions are widely advertised and filled.

The Ministry of Human Rights proposed several steps to address the backlog. These included a central data portal to provide public information about vacant minority quota positions across federal departments.

The ministry also proposed special recruitment drives to clear the old quota backlog and suggested flexible age relaxation policies to help eligible candidates compete for long delayed positions.

Officials further proposed targeted publicity through minority platforms and civil society groups so that vacancies could reach qualified candidates, particularly in remote areas.

The caucus expressed strong displeasure over the absence of key senior officials, including the Secretary Establishment Division and Chairman National Highway Authority.

Senator Danesh Kumar issued a final warning and said strict action could follow if the officials fail to attend the next meeting. He also warned that a joint privilege motion could be considered and said the matter would be brought to the Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman Senate.

The caucus also deferred two agenda items because officials brought incomplete and difficult to read documents, including missing quota figures and incomplete tables.

The convenor directed officials to provide complete and clear documents, along with soft copies, before the next meeting.

Senator Danesh Kumar directed that the recommendations on improving minority recruitment and transparency be included in the official minutes and called on all relevant federal secretaries to personally attend the next session with updated figures.