ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented move, the Establishment Division on Tuesday recommended the cabinet to allocate a separate quota in the federal government jobs for transgender persons.

The recommendation was part of a set of proposals presented by Secretary Establishment Division Mian Asad Hayauddin to distribute jobs among provinces under the revised National Finance Commission formula.

Also an integral part of the proposals was the recommendation to allocate jobs on the basis of education rather than domicile.

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The secretary also proposed maintaining status quo on census data 2017. He said percentages of jobs quota chalked out on the basis of 1998 census stood at 7.5% merit, Punjab and Islamabad 50%, Sindh 19%, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 11.5%, Balochistan 6%, Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) 4%, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 2%.

The allocation of jobs quota was based on the population of 132.4 million in the 1998 census, he said, adding that population figures of AJK and G-B were not part of Pakistan’s population then.

Hayauddin also presented provisional census figures of 2017 before the cabinet and pointed out that population of Fata was higher than that of G-B.

Presenting the combined data of G-B and Fata from 2008 to 2012, he said 178 applicants had qualified against an allocation of just 61 seats.

Briefing the cabinet on the existing quota, the secretary Establishment Division said that special dispensation was given to Balochistan and its share was enhanced from 3.5% to 6%.

Likewise, the merit quota was reduced to 7.5% from 10% in February 2007, he said, adding that the existing quota for women was 10% while 5% was reserved for minorities within provincial quotas reserved in 2007 and 2009.

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Regarding Islamabad, he said its jobs quota was allocated through the judgment of Islamabad High Court.

Under the judgment, 20% proportionate quota was reduced from each unit on January 26, 2016, Hayauddin said, adding that 2% federal disabled (special person) quota had been fixed in 1981 for BPS-1 to BPS-15 posts.

Recently, the cabinet had approved that special persons could apply for any group on merit by competing through the Central Superior Services.

The secretary said, “Legislative process for allocation of jobs quota among provinces pending with parliament should be expedited.”

After detailed discussion, the cabinet directed the Ministry of Law and Justice to push the pending official bill for meaningful debate in parliament. The bill has been pending in the National Assembly since August 28, 2013 for an extension in the quota.

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ISLAMABAD: The civilian top brass on Tuesday briefed Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on the state of the economy to address the military’s concerns over “sky-high debts” and “growing external imbalances”.

The army chief was also given a briefing on the “real picture” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its intended benefits for the country, according to officials privy to the meeting. Gen Bajwa was also informed in details about external sector problems, said the officials.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired the meeting, which also reviewed the security situation.

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The meeting was held about a week after the army chief publically expressed concern about the country’s debts. He had also called for broadening of the extremely low tax base and bringing in financial discipline to break the “begging bowl”.

After the army chief’s public address at a seminar organised to highlight the interlink between security and the economy, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations also said that if the economy was not bad, it was not good either, inviting a strong reaction from Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who also holds the charge of planning minister.

Iqbal, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif attended the meeting. The Pakistan-US relationship also came under discussion, said the officials.

It seems the government moved quickly to control the damage caused by Iqbal’s response to the military’s position on the economy. On Monday, Dar also tried to clarify the economic situation and urged commenters to take a holistic, rather than an isolated view, of the public debt position.

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Prime Minister’s spokesman Dr Musadiq Malik was approached for comment on whether the military and the civilian leadership came on the same page after the briefing, but he had not responded till the time this story was filed.

The officials said the COAS was informed that recent external economic pressures were because the economy was in an expansionary phase. It was explained that these pressures would remain there for at least a couple of years. The government was of the view that energy and infrastructure bottlenecks had to be removed for achieving a sustained economic growth rate of 6% or more.

Pakistan’s current account deficit was $12.1 billion in the last fiscal year due to its highest-ever trade deficit of $32.4 billion. The country’s gross public debt has also swelled to 67.2% of the total national output, which is well above the threshold prescribed for developing countries.

The officials said that the military leadership was given a realistic picture of CPEC, its financial burden, and the long-term prospects for the economy. The secretary planning gave this briefing.

The meeting was held on a day when a Chinese delegation was in the town to prepare a roadmap for setting up prioritised special economic zones (SEZ) in Pakistan under the CPEC framework.

Dinner talk

While speaking at a dinner hosted in the honour of the Chinese delegation, Iqbal said that Pakistan lacked experience in setting up SEZs and could overcome these deficiencies by learning from the Chinese experience.

He hoped that the provinces would complete their feasibility studies before the 7^th Joint Cooperation Committee meeting that would take place on November 21. The JCC is the policymaking body for CPEC.

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Iqbal said that the ownership of the special economic zones rested with the provinces and they enjoyed the freedom to take their own decisions.

Answering a question, Iqbal said that Dar had managed the economy well and he would stay at the helm of the affairs. He credited Dar with restoring the confidence of international donors and foreign investors in the economy. The government could not afford to change the finance minister at this time, he added.

Dar was recently indicted by an accountability court on charges of corruption, prompting the opposition parties to demand his resignation.

Iqbal also said that no government would seek a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund just months before scheduled general election.

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ISLAMABAD: In order to highlight the importance of a vote and to encourage people to register for voting, the top election monitoring body has decided to observe December 7 as the national voters’ day.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday sent a summery to the Prime Minister House which would then send it to the President for his formal consent to make the event an official national day.

“We want to make sure all eligible citizens get registered as voters before the 2018 general election,” the ECP said in an official statement issued after a meeting at its headquarters.

The ECP plans to hold one main event on the national voters’ day in the Presidency while its provincial chapters would be holding events in the governor houses of all the four provinces.

Voter verification campaign to begin next month

The ECP in the meeting also decided to hold awareness campaigns at the district level. If approved, the main focus of this year’s national voters’ day would be to encourage women to get registered as voters and turn up to cast their votes.

It is estimated that more than 12.17 million women of 18 years or above – who are otherwise eligible to be registered as voters – are not included in the voters list. The prime reason is that they do not have a Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) which is needed to enlist them in the electoral lists.

Under the newly passed Elections Act, 2017 if women voting in a constituency would be less than 10% of the total votes, the commission would annul the results and call a re-election for the seat.

There were reports in the previous elections that women in certain constituencies – especially in remote areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa and Balochistan – were restrained from voting under covert agreements among political parties or candidates.

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The reports suggested that local politicians, workers of political parties, clerics and community leaders had developed an agreement to bar women from voting. Since no male and female segregated data of polled votes was available, it was hard to verify such reports.

As a step to secure women’s right to vote and participate in the election process, parliament – through the newly adopted law – has enhanced the number of offences that come under corrupt practices.

The new law makes it mandatory for the political parties to give at least 5% tickets to female candidates on general seats. This will be in addition to the reserved seats for them in national and provincial legislatures.

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RAWALPINDI/PARACHINAR: The Resolute Support Mission (RSM) and Afghan forces have mounted a military offensive against the Taliban and their affiliates in eastern Afghanistan opposite the Kurram Agency border, the military said, amid reports that two days of aerial strikes have inflicted heavy losses on terrorists.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that because of the enhanced coordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan and timely sharing of details about the operation, the Pakistan Army is vigilant on its side of the border.

The statement came as reports emerged on Tuesday that the death toll from aerial strikes in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region has risen to 31 in two days. The military confirmed there was no violation of Pakistan’s airspace.

“Military operation[s] are being conducted in Khost and Paktia… opposite the Kurram Agency of Pakistan, the ISPR said. “During last 24 hours a number of air engagements have taken place in those areas inside Afghanistan with reports of heavy losses to terrorists.”

The military’s media wing said that following the recent visit to Afghanistan by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa coordination between the forces of the two neighbouring countries had enhanced.

Suspected US drone strikes kill 31 on Pak-Afghan border

“RSM timely shared details about the said operation within Afghan territory. There has been no air violation along Pak-Afghan border in that area nor [was there] any drone strike in Kurram Agency as being misreported by few,” the ISPR added.

“Based on timely sharing, Pak Army is ‘vigilant as anvil’ on [its] own side along Pak-Afg[hanistan] border,” it said. “Better security coordination will take both countries towards enduring peace and stability defeating the common enemy.”

In a separate statement, the ISPR quoted Gen Qamar as saying: “Through coordination and cooperation, both countries shall defeat the common enemy for enduring peace and stability in the region.”

Gen Bajwa, according to the ISPR, strongly condemned a terrorist attack in Paktia and expressed grief over the loss of innocent precious lives and injuries. “Afghans are our brave brothers fighting against terrorism with great resolve,” he added.

The eastern Afghan provinces of Khost and Paktia border Kurram Agency where the Pakistan Army last week rescued a Canadian-American couple and their three children from Taliban captivity in a daring operation. On Sunday an FC captain and three soldiers hunting for the kidnappers and their facilitators were martyred in a blast in the Kharlachi area of the agency.

Meanwhile, an aerial strike in the border areas near Kurram on Tuesday, at least five suspected militants were killed, raising the total number of fatalities to 31 in the last 24 hours. At least 26 militants were killed in two previous strikes by US drone and fighter jets a day earlier.

Local sources said in Tuesday’s strike, a ‘drone’ targeted a house in Khushaka, across Kharlachi, firing two missiles. Five suspected militants were killed and one injured in the attack, they added. This brings the number of total fatalities to 31 in three strikes, while 11 others were injured.

Kurram Agency’s Political Agent Baseer Khan Wazir told Reuters all the three attacks took place on the Afghan side. “Twenty people were killed yesterday, mostly from the Afghan Taliban, and 11 more were killed in today’s attacks,” he added.

A Taliban source said 18 members of their affiliate Haqqani network, were killed in Monday’s strike and six more in one of Tuesday’s attacks. “There were some mud-built houses which were being used by the mujahideen (Afghan Taliban fighters),” said a member of the Afghan Taliban.

No prominent militants were in the area when the drones targeted two or three different compounds, he said. But another Taliban source said two commanders were killed in Monday’s attack. Witnesses said they saw plumes of smoke before seeing 20 coffins moved out of the area.

(With additional input from agencies)

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