KARACHI: Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor termed the rural-urban quota only in Sindh province a big discrimination demanded to end this quota system from Sindh, or introduce rural-urban quota system in the remaining three provinces to ensure justice and equity.
In an open letter to the President, Prime Minister, Chief of Army Staff, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Chief Justices of High Courts, Chief Ministers and Governors of Provinces, Speakers of National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies, Presidents of Bar Associations and Journalists Associations, Heads of Political and Religious Parties and members of civil society, he said that the recent deadly riots in Bangladesh over quota system that led to regime change are being considered seriously by all patriotic citizens of Pakistan due to the political volatility of urban-rural quota in Sindh province.
He said recently, a standing committee of the National Assembly approved a bill presented by a leading political party of the country for a proposed extension of 20 years to the controversial rural-urban quota system in Sindh.
He said in fact the rural-urban quota system in Sindh in its very essence is discriminatory and it is against the fundamental principles of the constitution of Pakistan.
Altaf Shakoor said that Article 25 of the constitution guarantees that all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection by the law. However, the rural-urban quota system is slapped only in Sindh province, leaving all other provinces without any rural-urban quota divide which is a glaring discrimination.
He said that when all provinces have rural-urban populations why there is no rural-urban quota divide in them. Further, it also asks that if the rural-urban quota is a blessing why the people of the three other provinces of Pakistan are kept deprived of it.
PDP Chairman said that the basic principle of equal treatment to all citizens’ demand that the rural-urban quota should be introduced in all remaining provinces of Pakistan, or it should be ended in the province of Sindh.
He said logically, like all other three provinces of Pakistan, the province of Sindh should also have only one category of provincial quota instead of separate quota for rural and urban citizens. “In view of the above mentioned facts we request your valuable support for an end to the discriminatory rural-urban quota system in the Sindh province and to ensure that all the provinces of Pakistan should have a uniform quota system without any rural-urban discrimination,” concludes the open letter.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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