AMRAIZ KHAN
The Government of Pakistan through its notification on May 26, 2009 reserved a minimum of five percent quota for minorities.
This order defines a minority in the light of Article 260 (3) (b) of the Constitution of Pakistan signifying religious denomination and its allocation is similar to job quotas reserved for women and the disabled.
An important highlight of this quota is that it has to be carried forward if suitable candidates are not available. Similar quota provisions for minorities have been subsequently replicated by the Government of Punjab (notified on May 27, 2010 and further consolidated on February 9, 2015); by the Government of Sindh (through a resolution on May 30, 2010); and by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (initially reserving a 0.5% job quota and then to one and three percent and ultimately to five percent in August 2015).
The Government of Balochistan also endorsed five percent job quota for minorities through resolution of the Balochistan Assembly on March 13, 2015.
Despite introducing an affirmative action, data reveals that the minority job quota is not only prone to compliance issues but the number of minority employees is yet below actual population of minorities in Pakistan.
