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dNational Assembly is considering extending quota system for another 20 years.
What is your opinion?
Should it be extended or not?
Whatever your answer, justify in terms of its advantages or disadvantages.

This is a very interesting debate; interesting in the sense that once again the popular voice will be suppressed by the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan in the name of Democracy. ‘We are elected’ is the slogan they carry while an average Pakistani gets no benefit whatsoever goes on in the upper echelons of power. Pakistan is really unfortunate; it started with a strong belief on the principles of Islam, under a single banner of La-Ilaha -Ill'Allah, of equality and justice between Muslim brethren. We see us drenched in ethnicity, provincialism, self-centrism etc. The number of webs we have woven around us is not distinguishable anymore; one of these is the Quota System. What is a Quota system but a social injustice of preferring an incompetent person to a qualified one. I agree with those who have put forward their argument against the Quota system. The motives behind the Quota system, may they be noble or political, connote one thing that this system has been a failure. If it was meant for underdeveloped or undereducated areas to strive for education, it was based on wrong assumptions. We have a disaster at our hands with so much mismanagement that the trauma is untreatable and needs a cut through surgery. Moreover we are Muslims and in Islam there is no discrimination on the basis of race, creed, family, tribe, province, land etc. we are all equal in front of Allah Quota system is against Allah's Law so it should be abolished just for this one reason only, others are secondary in nature. Lets for once put things straight and let competent people, educated people come forward on Merit and let them serve Pakistan for once and see the difference it makes.

Engr. Junaid A. Mahoon
Lahore
Extension of the quota system will only make my faith stronger regarding the mentality of the powerful people of this country; that they are biased and have no regards for the people of Pakistan. We have seen the results of letting unqualified people run the country for the past 30 or more years. And you know what will happen to the country if you let incompetent people work in every government department that you can think of. Such people will make the country go down the drain, and they may not even know it. Open the doors for everyone on the basis of merit. And you will see better results. But in my opinion we are beyond any cure. Because the so-called protectors of the nation are the most corrupt. The largest portion of the national budget goes to them. Our politicians couldn’t just put an end to this evil system for the good of our country. With this absolute majority in the assembly they couldn't do a just and fair thing. What else can we expect from them.

Hafeez
Chicago
USA
My major concern is who has the right to extend the quota system and why. The people who are sitting in the senate and don't even know how to sign their own names or those who are in the jail and making all the stupid laws? They should do the survey and find out how many people in the country are educated and how much are they qualified. Our country needs to succeed in the world but here we are fighting over Sindhi, Punjabi, Mouhajir, Pathan, Sunni, Shia: what kind of Islamic country is this where there is no law and order? We call ourselves Muslims and we don't have any fear of Allah at all. Shame on all Pakistani who are bringing our country backward and sitting in London or in jails.

Iqbal Kalota
Quota System is constitutionally, logically, ethically wrong, since itgives advantage to people on the basis of their ethnicity.

Shariq Mirza
I believe that the quota system is the root cause of many problems in Pakistan. Let the best come forward instead of quota. Merit must be the basis of all educational and employment sectors.

Shah
I completely agree with Mr. M. A. Siddiqui, United Arab Emirates comments. The quota system must be abolished in order to introduce highly qualified candidates into the system. We need scientist and scholars to advance the needs of our nation. Please do not bleed the nation any more. It would not be able to economically compete and survive in the global economy.

Tahir I. Qureshi
Toronto, Canada
"Peace", "Justice" and "Progress" can only be possible if the inequality is reduced among various groups of population. Quota System in my opinion has been quite beneficial to the people from rural areas of Sindh. I belong to that area (never had the chance to utilize "quota" myself), and have personally witnessed several of my friends who had the opportunity to study in better educational institutions, just because of the quota system. I see opposition of quota system from people residing in cities and over-emphasis on merit, as mere display of urban-rural clash of interest. All over the world, urbanized people are not ready to share their benefits with marginalized communities of rural areas. The media and other propaganda institutions are in the control of urbanized people and fascist society of Pakistan have made all of our views myopic - one can not see beyond the interest of oneself or his group of people. The outcome of quota system should not be seen as ‘snatching an opportunity from a person of merit' but 'providing an opportunity to the have-nots'. However, I believe in critical analysis of all policies, its implementation and other modification to satisfy the needs of all groups of population.

Saghir A. Shaikh, Ph.D.
The quota system has been declared un-Islamic by the Shariah court and illegal by the Supreme Court. It is amazing to see that government is making claims about passing the Shariah bill and enforcing Islamic laws in Pakistan, while at the same time is supporting bills to extend quota system which has been declared against the Shariah!

Sajid Kheshgi
Atlanta, Georgia
Quota System should not be extended under any circumstances because by so doing, we get the people on such posts for which they are not eligible. In the end they do nothing but harm our country. Take the example of D.M.C (Dow Medical College): here a student who has done his intermediate from Karachi board of Secondary Education and has secured 79% is out, while people from Jamshoro who secure 65% from their respective boards get admitted. And in this way, a merit seat is wasted. And the student becomes a terrorist in the future when he or she does not admission to college just because of the Quota system. Please, do not extend this Quota System for a better future.

Ghazanfar Ahmed
We must leave the quota system and adopt the merit system. There is only one way to be successful in the world and that is through the merit system. Our members of the National Assembly come through the quota system, and so they cannot realise the importance of the merit system.

M.R.Attique
Canada
Whether Quota system stays or goes.. it makes very little difference in a country where majority of jobs are awarded not on the basis of talent but on favouritism. Of what good is that degree that doesn’t get you a job? In a country where a Janitor in Customs (Custom ka chaprasee) brings more money than a college professor, in a country where you can't get anything done without bribes and sources, I see quota system as a small leaf on a BIG evil tree we have grown in Pakistan in the past 52 years. A large number of young urban Pakistani professionals are moving abroad for a brighter future. If this trend continues Pakistan will lose its most valuable resource i.e. professional manpower. Quota system is certainly a bad thing in our country, and in my opinion it should not be extended even for a single day, but we have a lot of other problems, and trimming the top of the tree is not going to solve anything.

Syed M Ahmed
New York
I think the time has come for us to get united and raise our voice against this massive injustice that is going on for the last 20 years in Pakistan. In this age when every nation is trying to bring up its best, we are trying to make sure that this does not happen in Pakistan. I think that the ultimate victims of this unjust and corrupt system are the people of Pakistan themselves.

Anees
USA
It was indeed an experience to read the different opinions of my fellow Pakistanis on the issue of the quota system for some it is the Devil's act itself, for others, a magic wand, the use of which ensures or guarantees the progress and development of the entire country. I assume that all these people have been affected by this system one way or the other, resulting in strong opponents and then devout proponents. What appeared to lack in the entire discussion was, a clear understanding of the issue. For myself, I don't know the origin of this system, whether it was a novel idea of us Pakistanis or were we inspired by a dramatic and clandestine success of a nation who happened to use it before us. To put it concisely, we need to understand 1) the Idea 2) the objective 3) the duration 4) the end point 5) the evaluation of this system 6) other options if any.
Our tragedy is injustice, insincerity, corruption, selfishness, laziness, indiscipline, lack of a common goal as a nation. It is high time that we, as a nation realized that our problem is not the ineffective system or systems, but we ourselves are the reason behind the failure of each and every step that has been taken so far whether right or wrong towards the means of development. If quota system was effective, 30, 40, or 50 years was an ample amount of time for a trial of a remedy or a medicine for a particular problem. I call upon the better sense, judgement, morals, ethics of my countrymen in general and the legislature in particular to rise to the occasion and find a better option. Let us not forget that besides the idea of Islam, fear of Hindu economic and social exploitation was a major contributing factor in the creation of our beloved country. Let us not be the violators of the rights of our brothers and sisters, we should instead learn how to compliment each other economically and socially. May the better sense prevail.

Rizwan Mansoor
USA
If this is the quota for small schools and colleges in rural areas, then I am in favor of this system. This is because all the students that live in rural areas do not get the same educational opportunities which student living in Karachi or Lahore have so that both could be measured on the same scale. The need is not to end this system but to straighten it out, so that people don’t misuse it.

Mrs Ahmad
First of all we should think like Pakistanis, not like Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis, Pakhtoons and Mohajirs. We should do the things that are better for our country not for any individual. Why impose a quota? Why not simply educate and help the masses to make them compete at equal levels? Waderas, Choudhries, Sardars, and Khans are responsible for educating people of their areas, as they come to the Assemblies through their people’s votes. I think quota system is the biggest symbol of injustice at all levels with the people who are on merit. It should be given up, instead what we are seeing is that it is being extended for 20 more years. And who are the people benefiting from it? The people from the so-called backward areas? No sir! The only ones who benefit from it are the children of Sardars, Choudhries, Waderas and Khans. I advise the Prime Minister of Pakistan to please stop this injustice from happening. I believe that the quota system is wrong and un-Islamic and Pakistan, which is an Islamic country, should not have it.

Mohammad Nadeem Khan
Toronro
I think the quota system should be finished. Give chance to people who are qualified, regardless of their races.

Rehman Hammad
England
This is senseless, unethical and un-Islamic. Why don't we put extra efforts in raising the standards of living in the backward areas? When in 20 years quota system had not given any advantage to the people for whom it was intended then what will it do in the next 20 years? A poor man cannot do a decent job without any 'sifarish' no matter whether quota is there or not. In my opinion a big No. So they talk about implementing Islamic Shariat?

Ali
Sheffield
There is Quota System in Pakistan because the rest of the Pakistanis, especially Punjabis, except Mohajirs, don't have enough talent to compete and get professional jobs. Most of the people in Punjab are illiterate and backward and they don't want to get high education and come upward. They are happy to be a slave of Chaudhries. Despite Mohajirs’ being literate and talented, ironically, they have only 2% Quota. Look at here in United States, most Pakistanis here are either Mohajirs or Punjabis. There is no Quota System in the US both Mohajirs and Punjabis have equal opportunities to come up. But it is mostly Mohajirs who get higher education and have good jobs. However, mostly Punjabis are not interested in getting education.

Abid Malik
New York
Its strictly illegal and against the religion too. It’s just to deprive Mohajirs from the meager resources available. We have seen in the past that the people holding even 3rd division in the exams were given admissions to the professional and other institutes. Not only this but these persons, later on move to cities and study with the same environment and facilities as others and once again, after getting a poor grade, they are still preferred in the civil services and the federal jobs. You can consider how beautifully they could run the system and now even they are running.

Afaq Muhammad
Canada
Quota system was introduced to give the backward, uneducated, incompetent segments of the population more than what they deserve. In any other country the merit system is encouraged and practised because it gives the more qualified the chance to succeed. They will pretty soon have to create a new fourth world category for countries like Pakistan. More power to the uneducated Punjabis, Sindhis and others.

Ahsan Khan
My opinion is to continue the quota system, for the following advantages. 1) Rural areas will be developed so that the balance in education and job can be obtained. 2) It will increase the interest and love. 3) Our neighbouring country also has this system which is very successful.

Sheikh Bashir Ahmed
Kuwait
Quota system is justified until and unless proper facilities are equally provided to the rural and underdeveloped areas of the country.

Memon
England.
I don't know when will the rulers learn the lesson? Karachi is burning since 1985/86; instead of dousing the flame down they are planning to see its ashes.

Arif
Canada
This kind of system is not Islamic or legitimate. The unfairness of giving city jobs in the name of quota is detrimental to our structure and it benefits only the political system and not the social system. If our country wants to progress in the right direction then it will have to be guarantee fairness in recruitment and education. Let the best one take the seat and let our future be safe. Please for God sake oppose it and this is the only way we can avoid another MQM. Apart from their role of destruction or so-called terrorism, the real root cause was quota system. The government wants to bring a Shariat system over the current Judiciary system to abolish the whole system and create chaos and anarchy without being noticed by a common man. While on the other hand they want to establish a very unIslamic, unequal, forced policy of quota system.

Asad Usmani
It is absolutely unjust; a cruelty to all Pakistanis. All should be done on merit basis.

Ashfaq
There shouldn’t be any more Quota system.

Asim Khan
The extension of the quota system is the second worst thing that can happen to Pakistan. As far as the reasons against the extension of the Quota system are concerned, the responses are full of them. I believe that the answer to our solution lies in the Quran and Sunnah, both of which we seem to have forgotten. Pakistan being a Muslim country should have an Islamic government based exactly on the Prophet's time system, and as long as we don't have that, any policy, no matter how just and fair -intentioned it is, won't work. This is because our governors are corrupt to the point of no-return. The need of the hour is a Taliban-like Islamic revolution in Pakistan so that we can have a true Pakistan; which means the Land of the Pure or the Land Free of Impure, I believe it will happen; it’s just a matter of when.

Atif Hassan
USA
Quota system has become a weapon in the hands of the ruling class. It is quite clear that the majority of Urdu-speaking people think that this is injustice with them and it should be abolished. This idea is also shared by those who believe in fairness and competitive approach. Pakistan a developing country has very uneven distribution of resources. The political ruling class, the Jageerdars, the Army elite etc. are taking advantage of the limited resources of the country. Sometimes one group takes advantage and sometimes the other. The real problem is that the rural population has a great disadvantage due to being in the rural areas. We should really take care of the rural population everywhere in Pakistan and not only in Sindh. Sindh is also sensitive due to the fact that most of the Urdu-speaking population live in town. This is creating a real hatred among the Urdu-speaking people against the ruling elite. We should try to solve the problem i.e. protect our rural population along with not penalising our educated people. So a new concept should be developed to solve this problem. We are educated people and we should give positive solutions to enrich our country and refrain from blaming Mohajirs, Punjabis and Sindhis.

Abu Omer Behari
Toronto
Like most quota systems being effected in other parts of the world, ours intends to redress certain imbalances. Clearly, uneven distribution in terms of demography, education and economic opportunities exist between our federating units. Undoubtedly, these spoil our administrative system and therefore must be addressed in a dedicated and impartial manner.
However, a quota system can never be the solution or even part of the solution to our national grievances. The only known example where the quota system has worked is that of the United States Armed Forces in relation to their efforts to induct more Afro-Americans into the officers ranks. Although this example is not free from controversies, it is often cited as an example of a successful positive discrimination programme implemented through a quota arrangement. In Pakistan we are faced with multiple problems on the social, economic and political fronts. It is with humility submitted, simply but clearly, that our plethora of social problems require appropriate and responsible social planning; our all-too-evident economic problems require positive and long-term planning between financial planners and the factors of production; and our fractitious and tragically bloody political culture requires sincerity, genuine dialogue and statesmanship. In addition, often inter-disciplinary planning and action will act to further aid policy co-ordination. With this background of what is required in Pakistan, it is surely a fallacious policy that the extension of the quota system, horribly reminiscent of an empty slogan from another tragic era of our history, can deliver to us the national cohesion we all seek. Quotas and restrictions always serve narrow-vested interests only. Extending a hollow political promise, that has incrementally exacerbated the problem it was intended to address, does us all and our homeland a great disservice.

Zia Hashmi
Solicitor
The fact of the matter is that we do not have enough opportunities for each and every deserving student or a job-seeker. If you have sifarish, you have got the opportunity, otherwise you are unlucky. We have less professional educational institutions than what we need. The reason being the corrupt governments and their machinery. Education never happened to be anywhere in their priorities. Now since we do not have enough opportunities for each and everyone what
should we do? Should we deny all the possible opportunities to an ethnic group of Sindh because the other group is better? In other words let Sindhis die because they are not sharp or intelligent enough? I believe all the Sindhis should commit suicide because if they survive to live they will never be appreciated for that.

Amjad
Seattle
Quota system is not good for the development of our country. I strongly oppose it.

Syed Mohammad Rafay
USA
There are representatives of Waderas, they are those who are always resisting low cast workers from getting away. For that purpose they suppress them in many ways. In short, education, money, status etc, are prohibited for them. So the quota system is only benefiting the beneficiaries.

Ejaz Khan
Nothing is more dangerous to the process of nation building than putting at the helm incompetent leaders. And this is precisely what has resulted from the quota system that prevails in this country. There are other ways to redress the grievances of the less-privileged class; but only the easiest way out is followed and the burden is placed upon the shoulders of the next generation. The present generation in the driving seat will commit some of the most serious blunders if it did not rectify the attitude of putting off every thing till tomorrow.

Faisal Mahmood
Quota system is the brainchild of a satanic mind. It’s unjustified, criminal, unIslamic and shameful for any civilised society to judge the people not by calibre but on the basis of their place of birth. It gives me a feeling that we are still living in the age of darkness.

Faiz ul Hasnain
Islamabad.
As far as rural and urban quota is concerned, it is justifiable in Sindh because there are a lot of disparities in facilities in urban and rural areas.

Farhan Hussain
Most of the reaction on this issue is spontaneous and emotional. First of all Pakistan belongs as much to the people of Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad, as it does to Jamshoro, Umerkot and Bhakkar. Because of the unsympathetic attitude of big cities towards the rest of the country and social conditions in small places, there has been a very uneven development and hence the difference in opportunities, access to education, quality of education etc. Whereas big cities can boast of top educational institutions and producing brilliant minds; small places barely can provide education. There are many reasons for small places not producing interest in education and one of them is that they cannot compete. And education does not give them added advantage compared to if they start working from young age. The concept of Quota System is basically to ultimately provide an equivalent education and opportunities. This is applied in USA in the name of Affirmative action where minorities are given advantage beyond merit so that minorities don’t lag behind because of lack of opportunities. In Islamic history, after the conquest of Mecca, thee Prophet distributed more to Meccans to give them incentive although they were new Muslims and some Sahaba even objected. So the concept of quota system to do away with uneven development is not new. The present form of quota system in Pakistan, what I have heard is mostly used as a form of patronage by higher class, where there is not only quota system but on that quota whoever is selected is selected on "Safarish". So although, I agree to the concept that there should be some method to uplift the underprivileged people, but the form in which this is implemented now denies its own purpose. With the present set up in Pakistan we cannot expect any other thing. It is only when the underprivileged and privileged people realise and think in humanitarian terms, not abusing the name of patriotism, Islam etc that we can expect real change.

Khusro Rashid
The Pakistani style quota system is bad, but good for the landlords. In the US and other countries, there are systems to encourage minorities. According to the Pakistani govt. Mohajirs are about 7.6 %, so Pakistan should have quota system for them. If anyone goes to Karachi, he would hardly see a Mohajir in Immigration, Custom, Police or other civil services.

M. S. Alhaq
Who generated this quota system and why and which was it meant for? One part of it I heard was applied to bait-ul-maal. If you are five members of a family you should get more than the person who is alone; but everyone should work for the state according to his ability. I think there should be a screening committee comprising of agriculturist; industrialist; hawker; media-man; engineer; scientist; jurist; ulema; one of each should invite applications for the chief executive and the shooras and screen them to form a government. Not at all like the United Nations; in my country landlords, industrialists and chiefs have ruled over poor. Let the poor brilliants, hardworkers, well-wishers of the people and country come forward and take up the work.

M.S. Sheikh
It is the decision of the Qabza group for their own people. They just want to spoil our talent.

Zia
In the U.K. their exist notional targets for the recruitment of ethnic minorities particularly in the Public Sector. These are designed to indicate that those who serve the communities in which they work are represented in that workforce. For this to work well those that are recruited have to be selected on merit not purely on ethnicity. The measurement and the setting of targets is designed to ensure that certain sections of the community are not being discriminated against. For this to be effective in Pakistan it will require a major cultural shift from that which exists at present. They should concentrate on ridding the country of "Sifarish" and Nepotism; in order to do this they need education. A fundamental increase of investment in education allied to opportunities for all based on merit. However, I know that when educated people gain positions of power in Pakistan even they become constrained and forget the difficulties they faced previously. Meritocracy for a successful Pakistan!

Rafiq Ahmed Chohan
More laws and red tape means weak government; we should not extend the quota system, and instead provide more facilities of education to all areas, by spending more on institutions. Why not create more provinces and give them more autonomy. We wouldn’t need any quotas.

Farid Zia Khan
I think quota system is good to some extent. I personally do not strongly favour the quota system, however, it should not be abolished until and unless we provide a good education system (schools, colleges, etc) to rural areas. And I believe the blame goes to the government because it has not done anything to improve the system of education even a bit for the last 50 years.
Quota system should remain so that less-privileged people can at least get some chance to get good education.

Zahid
Washington D.C
USA
What is a quota system? Why is a person not judged on the basis of his intelligence and talent? I am not in favour of the Quota System. It's a shame for Pakistanis to extend the quota system; I disagree on the quota system. Quota system has to go away. Quota system is too bad; it's just another way to destroy our beloved homeland. I am against it no doubt.

Hammad-ur-Rehman
Karachi
Work because of the hate and corruption in your system. I find it interesting that most of your opinions come from those who live in the good old USA, where we have religious freedom.

Kenneth Royle
No. Quota system should not be extended in its present form for another 20 years, or even for a month. It has only served the incompetent so-called "elite" and wadera shahi of Pakistan. It has never been judicially implemented. It served as a very powerful tool in the hands of upper class from keeping the urban middle class and lower middle class youths -who somehow get enough education- from challenging them economically, socially, and politically. But then again, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was founded by these few elite and was to serve these few elite only. They have always been above the law, and probably will be in the foreseeable future. The so-called masses have been doped in the past and will continue to be doped in future, unless, of course, they do something about it.

Syed Z. Hussaini
Chicago
Is Pakistan moving into the 21st century or into the Stone Age? This is not even justifiable in the Islamic System so where is Nawaz Sharif and his Shariat Bill? At the most a 5% could be reserved for really backward areas (like they have for untouchables in India) e.g tribal belt and that too for a limited period of time (no more then 10 years) as it provides an
incentive to stay backward.

Shams
Colombo
A quota system is introduced to address a legacy of injustice towards a people or 'class' of people. The understanding is that concurrent with the period of the quota system, far-reaching and serious legal, administrative and policy measures are taken to root out the causes of the injustice. Once the injustices are eradicated or significantly reduced, the quota system is expected to run for a few more years in way of compensation for past disadvantages faced by the target groups. Therefore, by default, a quota system must be a TEMPORARY measure. Otherwise, the system itself becomes an injustice. In Pakistan nothing more than the mere implementation, in law, of the quota system has been done about the plight of the underprivileged. Nothing has been done to make these people better able to compete, on merit, with the rest of the society. No efforts have been made to improve accessibility to, and development of, a standard, equal, national education system, for all and sundry throughout the country. Sadly, this is not merely due to the fact that we are a poor country. Lack of will, and even malice, extreme selfishness, and cruelty on the part of the privileged ones, especially the rulers, is mainly to blame for the absence of any change in the deprived and desperate circumstances of the masses.

Usman Sadozai
No more quota system please. Why not spend resources in building up institutions in the remote areas? Besides, this system also foments corruption. People received their education in Lahore or Karachi and then they produce the domicile of some remote area of Baluchistan to get admissions or jobs. So please No.

Naveed
Manchester
I think our politicians are not in their right minds. Can't they see how it has pitched brothers who used to love each other into ones lusting for each other’s blood? Everybody is accusing the other of manipulation. For God's sake, improve the education standard, improve basic infrastructure and provide an environment in which every body can live a decent life based on his abilities not on the basis of race, language, area of residence or religion. We are all citizens of Pakistan and we all have the same rights. Look at India, it has a population that is four to five times bigger than ours, but most of the things are decided on merit. Please make people love each other.

Munnawer
Quota system was introduced for the uplift of backward areas and creating some sort of equilibrium between various regions of the country. But after more than 25 years of its existence, this system has been unable to deliver the goods. People have benefited from it, as evident from some of the views presented here, but when we look at the system as a whole, it has done more damage than rescuing the underprivileged people. Let’s consider that Quota system is the right approach to solving the problems of the masses. Have the targets been achieved? Are we an educated nation today? Do we have competent people to run our functionaries, institutions and government? Do the poor peasants in Sindh have the same rights and facilities as peasants in Punjab? Are our public institutions producing educated people who are really literate and good citizens? Of course all is messed up. Ethnic feelings, greed for power and corruption are on their highest levels. Quota system has contributed to giving rise to all such misfortunes. The highest court of law has declared appointments based on quota system as illegal and the system is depriving people of their rights. It’s time to forget the ethnic divisions and stand up as a nation united in the world. Where there will be injustice, there will be ethnicity. Without addressing the grievances of the deprived communities from this system and alleviating them, we cannot be a single nation.

Zoaib Nazir Khan
Lahore Cantt
Quota system has its merits and demerits but has anyone considered evaluating the effects of this system since its introduction many years ago? If not, it will be foolish on the part of any educated person to advocate for or against the extension of this system. We need to evaluate the socio-economic and political and cultural effects of this system before embarking on another 20 years journey. Pakistan is not a western country and one cannot apply the same principles in Pakistan as are applied in the USA or Canada etc. Our ignorant and helpless masses cannot compete against the slick and powerful people and they need some help from the government in the form of some quota system or some other system. Straight competition is good for equals but not for those who are born with two strikes down on them already. I am glad that people are debating about it in the press and I hope and wish that some of the educated members of the National Assembly would choose to do the same before stamping the government's proposal.

Mohammad Shafiq
USA
Yes, the National Assembly should extend the quota system for at least 30 years.

S.Palijo
I do not think, I know it is about time to get rid of quota system and start treating every one equal on the basis of his or her qualification. Still, the question is who is qualified and what are our qualification standards? Race, religion, ethnicity and connections are usually the basis of getting anything done in Pakistan. And in some cases, it is reverse discrimination. I worked for BCI (Business Computing International) in Pakistan for about 6months. The company prefers to hire Christians and pay more compared to other, more qualified employees, because of the perception that they can speak/write better English.(which is true). Before we completely remove quota, we should establish standards/qualifications/merits, and start reducing quota, and eventually get rid of it.

Riffat Husain
We should have quota in development activities and not in jobs because the experience of the past 50 years has shown that job quota leads to fragmentation of society (c.f. the Bengali case prior to the break-up of Pakistan) and breeds inefficiencies in bureaucracy inevitably leading to public service corruption and frustration. But quota as such is a good idea as it seeks to promote underdeveloped and underprivileged classes in the society and therefore it should be applied to infrastructure development projects. For example instead of giving jobs to 10 non-competitive persons on quota, which may benefit only 10 persons at the expense of the other more qualified persons on merit, one can invest the same money, or even more money, in setting up a college or a training institution which in time can produce 100 and 1000 more capable and qualified people from that underprivileged area for the job market. And when there will be really qualified and dynamic persons in the society they will not depend on the government for jobs; they will find innovative means of interacting with the market at large as is the case in other developed countries.

Syed Sharfuddin
This is in response to Mr. Salman Bhatti's message. For your information, Mohajirs are holding some high posts like COAS, Governor of Sindh, Chief Justice of Supreme Court etc. only because Nawaz Sharif wanted to start another operation against MQM and he did not want Punjabis to be blamed for it. He wanted to make that operation look like Mohajir vs. Mohajir.

Owais Khanzada
This is absolutely an unjust and cruel system. Only imbecile Pakistani politicians could imagine such a rotten idea. This has been the cause of suppressed talents in Pakistan. Should this rubbish idea be extended for another 20 years, I don't think Pakistan could intellectually survive any longer after that. Considering the fact that majority of the members of our National Assembly are illiterate, it is likely that such a decision would be endorsed.

Saleem
Quota System should not be extended for another 20 years. Instead the government should open more school and colleges and universities in rural and underdeveloped parts of the country. In simple terms, Quota System gives a chance to the poorly developed areas to come up equal to developed areas. For how long can the quota system run? At last one day it should be finished. The people who benefit from Quota System should strive towards setting up more schools, colleges and educational institutions in their poor areas. Our greedy politicians exploit this system for their own benefits. Today apart from the big cities, all Pakistanis are crying for basic necessities: justice, health, security etc.

Mohammed Yasin
Birmingham UK
Whatever the system is, it should be, if at all to be implemented, implemented in Punjab N.W.F.P and Baluchistan, in exactly the same context as it is implemented in Sindh.

S.A. Khan
Chicago
No more quotas please; let people with genuine merit come up; we need them to build this country into the nation it should be. There are examples of people who live and have been educated in Lahore only to use the quota system to get into service by producing a domicile certificate of a so-called backward district. These people not only take the place of a person with superior merit but they also never go and serve the backward district, so this system does not even benefit the areas it was meant for.

Javed Raza
Lahore.
The quota system is a stupid idea in the first place and extending it for 20 more years means pushing the nation 20 years backward. What is quota system? Why a person is not being judged on the basis of his intelligence and talent? Why give privileges to someone just because he belongs to a particular area? Without the healthy competition, our nation is not going to go anywhere. I still don't understand why the National Assembly is even discussing the idea of extending quota system after a very clear decision by the Supreme Court that quota system is not legal.

Nooruddin Aleem
Canada
It is too bad and shows the thinking and mentality of our politicians. Do you think that Sindh is the only place where you have rural and urban population? Don't Punjab, Baluchistan and NWFP have the same? It is total discrimination against a particular class of people because that class does not have feudal lords.

Rahat Khan
Quota System was created so that all the talented people of Sindh should start selling Pakoras and Dahi Bara. Although both are delicious delicacies but it is the people from Punjab who can afford to have these delicacies because they are penetrating every city of Sindh and taking over the jobs of resident people. It is also okay because the Punjab is the Big Province. Bare logon kay huqooq bhee bare hotay hain. I know Pakistan has 110% literacy rate 10 is our own product and 100 is imported. Everything is Punjab; Pakistan is Punjab; military is Punjab; you can not save yourself from Punjab.

Irma Miranda
I am not in favour of the Quota System. It must be abolished as soon as possible.

Muhammad Idrees
It is a shameful decision taken by our government and those in favour of the quota system. If there is no way for merit, so why don't we close our schools, universities, and other educational sources and start living in interiors areas of Pakistan. After this we can get more advantages than ever. If quota system is good and useful, then why isn't it applied to other provinces also? Why only in Sindh? "Be Pakistani think Pakistani"

Muhammad Qureshi
In the interest of Pakistan and its people the men in power should stop playing to the gallery and be realistic. I am not against quotas, but they should not be at the expense of others. Economic background should be the criteria and not region, origin or political affiliation. If the men in power cannot make the system fair, they should put an end to it.

A. Rahim
New Jersey
Quota system is a living proof of our system's failure. People do not enjoy equal educational opportunities. Quota system has been misused by the influential like any other system in Pakistan. But if Quota system is finished the result will be the overwhelming number of Punjabi officers and you can see it from the marks obtained by candidates from Punjab in C.S.S. and other competitive examination. I myself am from Punjab and would easily have become a C.S.S. officer if there was no Quota System.

Asad Malik
If our country is called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, then I believe we are following the rules laid down by our holy book Quran, please correct me if I am wrong; I personally never came across a word called Quota while I recited my beloved book. Then why?

Rizwan Shah
London, UK
Some of the Mohajirs blame quota system on Punjab! How strange! Punjab sacrificed their due share for the sake of Pakistan but still they are blamed. One must remember that Punjab's share in federal jobs is 50% against their share in population, which is more than 65%. So how can anyone blame Punjab for quota system unless somebody is blinded by prejudice or wants to hide his or her own excesses with a smoke screen of blame on Punjab? The fact is, that the quota system was introduced by Mr Bhutto because Mohajirs were controlling everything in Sindh at the expense of local people. If Punjabis benefit from the quota system then why is it that local Sindhis are against the lifting of quota system? Punjab sacrifices and goes with the quota system because it helps the people in backward areas. Now a small riddle to determine if the quota system is right or not in the Sindh province: Once there was a group of people who migrated from a distant land. They were given refuge and all opportunities by the natives. But by intrigue these immigrants came to control all resources of their new home. Their brethren in influential places made sure that they controlled all aspects of the local economy. They had realised a long time ago that controlling money and media meant that you could control everything else. So they made sure that they had a stranglehold especially on these. They would control everything in their new homeland but would consistently and constantly harp that they were being 'discriminated' against and 'deprived' of their rights as a smoke screen against their excesses. They would resort to all means, fair or foul, towards their evil end. They would resort to intrigue and conspiracy against the locals, they would use their money and media power to increase their influence, and would not hesitate to enlist the services of enemies of the state against the very people who had given them refuge. And if tactics of harassment, bribery or character assassination would not work, they would resort to terrorism and eliminate anyone, who obstructed their designs. Now folks can you tell who these people are? Mohajirs in Karachi or the Jews in Israel and western world?

A.S.
New York
USA
If Quota System was bad, then how come Sindhis got opportunities in their own home province, ever since the foundation of Pakistan? If this system was misused, the majority should look after its loopholes. In my opinion the government should divert its major resources towards the development of infrastructure in the rural areas, and then think of abolishing such system. Until then this system should continue to act as a window for the people of those areas to access equal opportunities.

Anjum Shaikh
BC, Canada.
Quota system is too bad; it's just another way to destroy our beloved homeland. I am against it no doubt.

Tausif Khan
The Quota System is totally un-Islamic and an injustice to Karachiites.

Razee
Andheri nagri chopat raj.
First of all evils of Pakistan create the environment of injustice for the people of Karachi and when the people react against that situation then they implement the operation and name them terrorist. Islamic country, Shariat, Khalifa (Nawaz Sharif) and the Quota System: funny joke!

Anwar Ahmed
I don't know whether Quota system is good for the country or not, but it is for the readers to find out who the loser is in my case. I graduated from NED Engineering University in Karachi. I wanted to go abroad for higher studies. At that time the Ministry of Science and Technology was offering scholarships for studies abroad. I appeared in the tests and did reasonably well and was called for an interview. The interview was conducted by the head of SUPARCO at that time. He was impressed with me, but he clearly told me that I wouldn't be able to make it because I would fall back on the quota allocated for Karachi, while other students having less marks than me from some remote area are likely to get it because of the quota. He instead offered me a position in SUPARCO, (I guess, he did not want to lose me). After I was formally offered a position in SUPARCO, I opted not to join it because I wanted go abroad for higher studies. After a few months I managed to get a scholarship from British Council to study for MSc. Engineering (I believe they have no quota system and they have a just and fair system for selection of the candidates). I completed my MSc in England and there I managed to meet the Ministry of Science and Technology scholars from Pakistan; they were a disgrace to the country and some of them failed in exams, thanks to the selection of the candidates through the quota system; hard earned foreign exchange was being spent on scholars who did not deserve it. The British were not impressed by our best scholars. I returned to Pakistan and worked for a corporation for a few years but I could not see myself doing well in a discriminatory and unjust system. I migrated to Canada and now by Allah's help I am happy and doing well. I am working in the field of Nuclear Power in Canada. Many of my class mates (about 20%) from the University days are working in high profile positions in the US. I love my country and would have loved to work for my country, but do the politicians know how much brain-drain they are causing by abolishing the merit system and putting people in places where they do not belong? Is there anybody listening in Pakistan?

Farrukh
Canada
We are entering in the 21st century but our country is following the same old rules and laws we had a century ago. The concept of Quota system should be erased forever and rule of merit followed strictly if we want prosperity and good people at the front desk of Pakistan.

Zaheer Sarwar.
New York.
It is an irony that a country like Pakistan with enormous resources and people so brilliant, that have proven themselves in the world (not in Pakistan), are being subjected to an intentional suppression and slaughter of intelligence by imposing a feudal and dictatorial quota system to satisfy the needs and will of a few at the expense of the people of courage, ideas, opinions, education and vision. I say if the govt or the cabinet extends the quota system they are committing the most heinous crime of all; suppressing and intentionally killing great minds, that I think will be the last nail in the already weakened Pakistan. I hope they don't go extend the QuotaSystem any further. People should explore the enormous potential they have and should focus on learning and developing new technologies such as computers; we should learn from other countries and we don't have to look far, the govt and the private sector should jump into exploring and developing computer technologies especially in Karachi as there is already some establishment. In this way there can be literally, plenty of jobs and opportunities for the new generation.

Sarwat Ali
Rochester NY.
I think Quota system is un-Islamic, against human rights and undemocratic. Why should one person who is inferior in every aspect to another be given priority? No where in the world is quota system used. In the US there is only a special quota for the disabled, otherwise there are no special privileges to minorities, women, ethnicity etc. One white male from NY has the same rights as a Hispanic woman from California. In Japan too, there is absolutely nothing remotely resembling quota system. Every one has equal rights to education, employment and work. In Pakistan, the Quota system places incompetent and selfish people in power, which then harm the systems of the government.

Aamer Aziz
Nagasaki, Japan
In my opinion, the quota system was not good in the past, neither is it any good now and it is not going to be good even in the future, because we are Muslims and Pakistanis not Punjabi, Sindhi, Pakhtoon, Baluch and Mohajir. Any person who says he is Punjabi, Sindhi, Pakhtoon, Baluch or Muahajir he is actually a traitor.

Rashid F. Khan
USA
It looks like the Punjabi junta are in the mood of making every thing possible to kick Mohajirs out like Bengalis. If the federation of Pakistan would not exist, who cares about quota system.

A Pakistani Canadian,
S.KHAN
It is unjust to extend the quota system for next 20 years. The Shariat court and Lahore High Court have already decided against the quota system, and our prime minister on the one hand seems very keen on bring about the Shariat rule, while on the other, he is disregarding the Shariat court's decision. Quota system is the only reason why the civilian system is failing.

Qamar Abbas
They are all out of their minds. What do you expect from them?

Yousaf Tai
A country should be run on the basis of merit. But anyway, since opinion matters; but whatever is going to happen will happen.

Rehan Ahmed
All I am reading is how Punjab wants the quota system to forestall Mohajirs from prosperity. If that is the case, then tell me this: If the quota system is designed to deny Mohajirs any posts, then why is the Chief of Army Staff, Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, Chief of Navy, Governor of Sindh, and many, many other senior officials Mohajirs? How can Mohajirs say they are being deeply discriminated against when they get appointed to the top posts in Pakistan? There is a saying that applies perfectly here "Give an ingrate a slice, and sooner or later he will demand the whole cake"

Salman Bhatti
UK
I disagree on the quota system. Quota system has to go away.

Misbah
The quota system in one word is Racism. It was designed by the ruling junta to keep the Urdu-speaking people (who have been branded Mohajirs by the successive governments) out of decision-making positions. They not only punished the people who migrated from India but also their future generations. These generations are sons/daughters of the Pakistani soil but this legalised racism has branded them forever Mohajirs. In a layman's language the message is simple: you do not belong here! Of course they migrate again when they can. Who is the loser? It is a pity!

Obaid Qureshi
Canada
The quota system is an unIsamic law. Nawaz Sharif is Punjabi first then anything else. That is why he is favouring this system. Pakistan is a not a Islamic country, it is simply Punjabistan.

Abrar Alam
Toronto
I am surprised that in the 21st century when the world is moving so fast we are still thinking about quota system, discretion and other similar issues. It surprised me that the National Assembly of a country had nothing else to do but prove a system on injustice. When will we be able to move with the world? Could anyone in our National Assembly tell me if there is any place for the quota system or discretionary power for any body in Islam? Why are you making a fool of the innocent people of my country? Why are you misleading a Muslim nation? What are your aims and objectives?

Rashid Khan
Australia
I am not in favour of the quota system. I think everybody should get opportunity based on merit. It is ridiculous to extend this system instead of building new schools, colleges and technical colleges. That will imperil another urban generation. It will create frustration. Crimes like dacoity and terrorism in big cities are because of the quota system. These are just because people are not getting jobs. The quota system was first implemented to create the equilibrium between the urban and rural peoples. During that period the government was supposed to build education centres in rural areas so that they get the same kind of facilities as the urban people get. Almost 25 years have gone but there is no sign of new education centres in rural areas. Is there any guarantee that the government will build education centres in the next 20 years? I don't think so. This is because our leaders (the landlords) don't want to educate the rural people and for that the urban population is paying the price. This is injustice and cruelty with the urban populace.

Abdul Mateen Kunwer
Toronto, Ontario
I think the quota system, as it is in its present state, is totally a useless thing to have. It is a product of rulers’ thinking who want to suppress others; just pleasing some and keeping others at bay. It serves no purpose at all. So I strongly favour its abolishment. Instead of this, a new programme of compulsorily educating people of the so-called backward areas has to be introduced. The thing one has to understand is that there will always be a difference among graduates of different areas, for example some one educated from Karachi will have more exposure from the one from Lahore and naturally the former will be more competitive because of one’s environment. So should we put a law to stop every educated person from Karachi from getting a job? Secondly, as one cannot choose parents, in the same way one cannot chose the place of birth and so on. To make things equal open competition is the only way forward.Thirdly, the quota is exploited by the corrupt and incompetent people to the detriment of the deserving ones.

Atif
UK
As our beloved Prime Minister has already declared that in all the fields he prefers the selection on merit, therefore, extending the quota-system in my opinion is not required anymore since it could not solve the purpose in last 50 years.

Neaz & Ismat
Kuwait
Quota System is a system which has disturbed the people of Karachi; it has taken away open merit and quality-based competitive system from our society. Everyone knows who will suffer the most from this kind of system, yet they want to continue it. By doing this they want to achieve two main objectives: first, to do injustice to Karachites by depriving them of equal opportunities; second, to make our rural communities realise that they don't need to work very hard because they will get employed without much labour. This kills the chance of improvement and uplift of rural communities, and thus the politicians achieve their objectives: to rule over ignorant Pakistanis, and make as much as possible from their resources while in power.

Muhamad Ali Siddiqui
Giki Topi, Pakistan
I wish to support all those sincere Pakistanis, who have written to you in favour of the quota system. Pakistan is not for the elite only, the underprivileged have rights too. I come from the remote tribal area of Pakistan. The quota system provided me the opportunities and helped me compete with the privileged. I made it and I am thankful to the system in Pakistan. People who voiced their opinion against the system are selfish. They want to keep the people of the remote areas away from the higher education and jobs.

Dr.Syed Shah
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Doha Qatar
I think that this quota system should not be extended at all. I think that there are no advantages whatsoever of it. It discriminates against the more education-dedicated people in every manner, non Sindhi speaking people, and thus takes away almost all of their rights to federal jobs. It is also humiliating those hapless people who see no quota system in Punjab. It is a corruptibly imposed curse by the people who had been at the helm of affairs in the country and the same people do not feel a pinch or foresee that they will be fully accountable before the grand judge one day, and will not escape their deserved punishment.

Sheikh
Canada.
The quota system should be abolished forthwith as it has not served its purpose. It has been misused and only the corrupt have benefited from it, it has given rise to corruption and the deserving people of the interior Sindh have also not benefited from it. The only people who benefited from it were corrupt officials who gave jobs and admissions to people who had money. Besides, it is unethical and discriminatory and against the tenets of Islam, because of its implementation only corrupt officials are found in the government offices who do not even know how to draft a letter. Merit should only be the selection criteria. The government is trying to extend it only to gain political support from the population of interior Sindh. The only way to gain popularity in Sindh is to bring about economic development on a massive scale, the youths of Karachi have also suffered a lot. It is high time they were treated in a better way and provided facilities.

Adil baig
Toronto,
Canada
It is a very wrong step.

Mir Hassan M. Khan
This system is just good for those people who already have everything. This system is totally unjust for all. Please end this, and bring meritocracy with all your honesty.

Nasir
Chicago
The quota system should not be extended. This system was introduced in 1970's by Mr Z.A. Bhutto to eliminate the economical differences between urban and rural sindh. It was implemented on experimental basis and was supposed to be ended after seven years. But unfortunately this system failed to serve its actual purpose. People in rural areas are still poor and people in urban areas are jobless. Now this situation is exploited by feudal lords of Pakistan to get votes from rural areas and by a particular party in Karachi for their political manoeuvres. Only the enemies of Pakistan benefited. Most of the high-profile jobs in Pakistan are occupied by people who are incompetent. They got those jobs only on the basis of their domicile, the ruling class to which they belong, defence and others. This system is creating hatred and enmity among different groups in Pakistan.

Iqbal Jamal
Chicago
US
Well, it really depends, at the moment yes it is right because the government has failed to provide equivalent opportunities to all the Pakistanis.

Zulfiqar Syed
Quota system in Pakistan should be extended for judicious distribution of opportunities.

Ch. Babur Siddique,
Oklahoma.
Quota system is a worst way of keeping the talented people out of opportunities. Instead of extending this system for another 20 years the government should make a reasonable and practical system to enhance the education standard for the left-out areas. Why be left out by supporting the left-out areas for another 20 years?

Muhammad Anzar Afaq
Switzerland
Quota system, a cancer to the unity of the country and a last nail in the coffin of remaining Pakistan.

Shaikh Moiuddin Jeelani
Quota system in Pakistan is a necessity as there are a lot of areas where people don't get a chance to compete with those of other provinces due to the lack of educational facilities. If the quota system is to be removed educational standards in all the four provinces will have to be brought equal to each other. If this is not done and the quota system is not extended Punjabis and Mohajirs will be blamed for this as they usually are. The quota system too needs some re-adjustments. The less literate areas should be given a bit less percentage of the total allocation whereas Punjab should be given its due share i.e. according to whatever percentage of the total population that is living in Punjab. Educational facilities in less literate areas should be worked upon on emergency basis.

Babur Siddique
USA
The government should never extend the quota system for any period of time, as this is the only and major cause of problems and frustration among the majority of people in Karachi. The government should now take this matter seriously and never impose the quota again. By doing this, the government may gain the support of Karachiites and the problems in Karachi will be resolved. I strongly urge the Prime Minister of Pakistan to consider this matter in the long-term basis if he wants permanent peace in Karachi.

Ghias Syed
As mentioned by Mr AS from New York that Punjabies are the one's who have suffered the most, I really want to know what Punjab is contributing to this country. On the other hand Mohajirs were not only educated but also had brains. They left their wealth, lost family members came to Pakistan and ran this country. We built this deserted city Karachi into a metropolitan.

Najam Rahman
First of all I want to make it clear that I was born in Punjab and I am not a victim of the quota system. Since I've been brought up in Karachi, I have seen lots of injustices done to people who come on merit just because they do not belong to a particular area. I think it is a pity that at the turn of the millennium we have such narrow-minded legislators. I think quota system is the biggest symbol of injustice at all levels with the people who are on merit. It should be given up, instead what we are seeing is that it is being adopted and extended for 20 more years. And who are the people benefiting from it? The people from the so-called backward areas? No sir! The only ones who benefit from it are the children of Sardars, Choudhries, Waderas and Khans. Mr. Prime Minister, please stop this injustice from happening. Be open-minded and support merit the way you always tell us on TV.

Shehzad A. Khan
That's the only and only reason to make Pakistan more backward.

Javed Majeed
Quota system is inescapable as far as country like Pakistan is concerned. Almost one-third population of Pakistan is living in rural areas. Still our government is not fully successful in giving the basic facilities like electricity, gas, roads, schools etc. to most of the rural populace. These people are talented but because of lack of basic facilities they face problems to be equipped with latest information and education. Why should these people suffer if the government is not providing them with urban-type facilities? These people have already had suffered a lot and now it's the duty of the government to compensate these people. This non-urban population can really help in developing this country once they get their due rights in reputed institutions or in jobs. They can only get this chance by awarding them proper weightage in educational institutes and jobs. Quota system should be extended and proper percentage should be ensured in jobs and in educational institutes for rural population of Sindh, FATA, Balochistan and underdeveloped areas of Punjab and NWFP population until proper basic facilities are not be provided to these people. These people should not be deprived of their rights. I advise you to work out a fair weightage system to this opinion that you are collecting by using Internet a 'source of urban peoples'. To the best of my knowledge none of the rural areas of Pakistan, as yet, have Internet. Therefore the justice is that one vote supporting quota system should be equal to on hundred against it? That is if you find out two opinions in favour of the quota system and one hundred against it. The two votes should be more valuable than one hundred, because this source is only used by the urban people.

Muhammad Imran
Dundee Scotland
No. It's a shame for Pakistanis to extend the quota system, which should have been abolished long ago. The only benefit of the system goes to the feudal lords, who are destroying the country for their own interest and power. Mainly Punjab has control of all the resources of the country without any proper justification.

Muhammad Khan
Although quota system is not desirable, it is meant to protect and promote the rights of the underprivileged sections of the society. It may be surprising that this system is in use in a country like Unites States as well. So what is the argument about the quota system in a corrupt, backward, illiterate and underdeveloped country like Pakistan?

Zia Shaikh
Pakistan has already paid the price for this bad decision. This quota system has already thrown away, around 40%, talent to the trash-can. It has created an environment of injustice which lead the country to the "no respect for law" situation.

Azhar Khan
Vancouver, Canada.
I strongly support the extension of quota system till all the facilities are provided to the rural areas that are enjoyed by the urban areas like: education, health, electricity, gas, and etc.

Hussain Bux Marri
United Kingdom
In developed countries all facilities are evenly distributed, whilst in Pakistan amenities are unevenly distributed among the urban, rural and backward areas. The people living in urban areas cannot even think, the difficulties being faced by the people belonging to the rural and backward areas. They are living a miserable life. I would suggest that those who are opposing the Quota system go to Thar, Kohastan, rural areas of southern Punjab like Cholistan and live for a few days and realise the situation. I strongly favour the quota system in Pakistan until the difference between the rural and urban people should diminished.

A.Baloch
UK
I think that Quota system isn't good for a social society, especially for Pakistan. Because of Quota system we are compromising against quality and are neglecting those areas or persons that have quality.

Muhammad
All I can say is that it has been there for the last 20 years or so and the results are pretty clear. If that system had a single good thing in it our country's economic condition would have been far better than what it is at this point, and if quota system is really that good then why is it only only implemented in Sindh; it should be implemented in other provinces too.

Khalid Mehmood
The extension of quota system for next 20 years, are the present government and PPP both consenting to it? It is just the quota system and nepotism that is destroying the civil system. So why do they want to extend it?

Qamar Abbas
Montreal, Canada
This is a very serious matter: a person spends a lot of money on his or her children and some other incompetent comes from a village with a third position and gets a seat in college or a job. This is not a just system and is very bad for the nation. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered that anyone who has better knowledge of Quran can be Imam for the prayer. This means merit. Not like a quota system that anyone from a village may straightaway go and become the prime minister, in total injustice to those who spend their time and money. The bottom line is that quota system is not good for Pakistan.

Iftikhar Ahmed Khan
Ask some body to build a 100-story building and tell him he has got a quota to use 70 % wood and 30 % steel-coated wood for the foundation! He will probably label you a joker. Only the Pakistani governing elite will go ahead with this joke; they will build the building and pocket the commission. The irony is that these short-sighted people will also build a nation in the same manner on the quota system. In due time both the building and the nation will have to collapse. Not by choice but because of the inherently built-in faults. We want to compete with the mighty of this world; we will have to stop bickering on these provincial, ethnic, urban , rural lines.

Wasim Ali
Westchester California
I am not surprised at all by this government's move. As long as the 2% of the total population of Pakistan will continue to rule, the people of Pakistan should expect just about anything bad from these champions of democracy. I remember the slogan "Pakistan Ka Matlab Kiya, Lai Laha Il Allah". With the rule of these 2% culprits it has become "Pakistan Ka Matlab Kiya, Saaree Achchaayon Se Pak Jagah". May Allah shower His "Qahar" on these "Munafaqeen".

Ansari
Z.A. Bhutto's political decision to uplift the rural population of his home province by imposing quota system and depriving the more deserved persons from academic and jobs has pushed the country into a number of unforeseen problems. It is a situation where no political leader can lay his or her hands in fear that he or she may lose Sindh's support. The right direction is to develop opportunities of education and jobs in every part of the country, rural and urban alike, so that the charm of moving to the cities is reduced. This is a painful and time-consuming job, which would bear fruit in at least 10-15 years. But, this is the only true solution to bring political and economic stability in the province. Otherwise, the hatred against other ethnic population would grow, bringing more chaos and resulting in brain-drain in the country. I wish there is a politician who is not selfish and can take a non-biased decision.

Ishrat Hasan
Canada
We are living at the end of this century and talking about that all. It means that we don´t have talent. Why impose a quota? Why not simply educate and help the masses to make them compete at the equal level? It's not a pardon and if we do so it means that we are not helping and protecting them but ruining them. What about the youth that is educated and has all necessary qualities to compete with? Are they dumb or should they hold weapons in hand if they cannot be offered the same? We must think what we are doing and what will be the result. Just for having more votes it is not a good suggestion; we must think something else on equality principle.

Khurram
Germany
Punjab has benefited the most from the quota system. If you go to any department you will see 90% Punjabi employee. They were the architects of the quota system in the parliament. Punjab supported the quota system and Karachiites were against it. Punjab knew that it couldn't succeed on open merit against Mohajirs who were better qualified. They had to introduce an unfair means to control them. You can hear all kinds of lip service but will never see a concrete step taken by a Punjabi government to remove it. Punjab knows very well that if the quota system is abolished it will have to compete with Mohajirs. Most staff at domicile offices in Karachi and other urban areas are Punjabi and any Punjabi can walk straight to domicile office to get a domicile. The common cry of Punjabi candidate that they were at 47th ranking and were not able to get in Custom or other lucrative department is due to selfishness for they do not want to give even the few leftover seats to their conspirators Sindhi/Baluchi/Pathan. The candidate from urban Sindh can not even get a job or admission even if he or she stands 15th. Believe me Punjab will never do away with quota system. In the last 28 years of quota system the Punjabis have benefited the most from it. Mohajirs need to realise that it is but a scheme of Punjab to pit them against Sindhis. Haven't we figured out yet?

Eqbal Ahmed
I think the quota system should be finished. Give a chance to people who
are qualified, regardless of their races.

Imran Hameed
The Quota System is a type of cancer, which is more dangerous than AIDS, because AIDS kills one person but this system kills the whole nation. This system was imposed by that person who was officially hanged due to a proven murder. In Pakistan the main source of problems is this system. On the one hand, our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is
talking about the Islamic laws and Shariat, while on the other he is totally involved in unjustified and un-Islamic affairs, i.e. the Quota System. This is a system through which we can increase the percentage of degree holders but we cannot produce one good scientist, engineer or nation builder. Not a single country accepts our professional degrees. This is shame for us, and this is one of the gifts of the Quota System. Being a loyal and devoted Pakistani, I am requesting those authorities, who are going to extend this system: Please save our nation.

M. A. Siddiqui
United Arab Emirates
It is creating hatred among different ethnic groups. If it goes on for another 20 years we might see another Bangladesh. We all love Pakistan and let us love our united Pakistan.

Mohammad Ali
Quota system is a curse on the society. Pakistan has been living with it since its inception. It has only created a sub-standard bureaucracy. This government must take bold steps in changing the system. Quota breeds nepotism and corruption. In an ideological state where all Pakistanis are equal, quota system must be done away with. People in favour of the quota system use the argument of protection of the under-privileged regions of the country. I think that argument is flawed as most of the urban areas of the country have similar education facilities. The arguments of the protagonists of the quota system are old and hackneyed.

Naveed Khan
USA
The immediate need is to build Pakistan within the shortest possible time. The only possible way is to bring up the cream of all trades on top and let them build the country. Quota system will never let this happen. Be Pakistani, be sincere and kick the quota system out. There are thousands of examples where qualified professionals could not
get the job just because of the Quota being not available.

Mohsin Irshad
Kuwait
Thanks for giving us an opportunity to express our opinions on vital issues that affect the country. On what basis is the NA extending the quota system for another 20 years? The state of the nation indicates that whatever policies we have
followed in the last 50 years have contributed to the fragmentation of the nation. By filling positions on the basis of where you live, aren't we encouraging to be a Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi or Pathan rather than to be a Pakistani? The system also does not allow the best to come forward to serve the country. Merit is the only way to go. There has to be a process in place to ensure that "parchi" does not play a role in this selection process.

Bashir
Toronto
NA revels in quota system, which is nothing but a joke with talent and justice. It will never help the rural areas but only the feudals. This is one of the root causes of Karachi /Sindh's problems and this situation could be created
throughout the country. Mr. Nawaz always talks about Shariat. Does this type of discrimination allowed in it? I do not have expect that NA would do justice on this issue because most of them are the supporters of quota system and our next generations will be the victim of this.

Jawed Iqbal
UAE
Pakistan was built as one nation for Pakistanis. For Pakistanis there should be no quota system. The Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathans, Balochis or Muhajirs should apply for a Pakistani citizenship. Pakistan was once respected around the world and used to be a proud country before the incompetents took over the helm. The quota system should be abolished so that the deserving gets a fair chance to progress and hopefully one day in the future we regain world respect as a nation of sensible people with a Pakistani Prime Minister, Pakistani cabinet members and a Pakistani puppet at the top. The reason I write with venom is because I love Pakistan and hate seeing what these marauders are doing to it.)

Jehangir Shah
Phoenix
In my opinion the quota system should be abolished as soon as possible and to deal with the concerns of the rural population more schools should be established and better facilities provided for the people living in rural areas, specially for female students. This can only be done after the quota system is totally abolished as we can see that we have had this system for so many years and it hasn't changed the conditions rather the situation over the years has got worse in every respect. So, by removing this system, there will be pressure on the government to do more for the under-privileged people than just make the tall claims of implementing this discriminatory law that, as we can see, has not helped them much. Secondly, the survey that you are conducting is a biased one because it represents a very small percentage of people who have access to computer and I am sure that they don't belong to the underdeveloped areas.

Ehsan Hadi
Pakistan is a country with an uneven distribution of amenities between urban, rural and certain backward areas. Rural/ backward areas of the country catering the absolute majority of total population (over 70 percent) lack the basic facilities. One can quote the non-availability of 'Gas', 'Electricity', 'Telephone', and all sorts of communications like roads, post offices etc. Availability of all sorts of information and literature sources, like, libraries, Internet etc are far from their reach. The lack of such facilities, in the rural/backward areas, has immense impact on the quality of education their young children are achieving. As a consequence they are unable to compete with their urban counterparts who have a vibrant social, economic, and educational environment to achieve a better-quality education. Economic resources is the another area where the poor people of the rural areas fall short of. These were amongst several other reasons for the government of Pakistan to introduce the quota system. That is absolutely justified and should be continued until the government is able to distribute amenities to all the sections of population, no matter if it takes them just one year, 20 years or 50 more years. It is pity that the quota system is now being attacked by the urban elite who already have a lion’s share of resources in their hands and who don't feel comfortable to see the rural populace share the so-called equal job opportunities. It is obvious that this survey is being carried out using the resources the rural populace cannot think of to use as a weapon against their basic human rights. This is replication of the famous saying 'Criminals are on the chair to propose punishment for their own crimes'. Do you think that you are involving the poor peoples of rural areas who don't have approach to the Internet and the so-called 'literacy' in this survey? Do you believe that by doing this you are bringing out a fair opinion taking out samples equally distributed in both the sides who are affected by continuing and not continuing the 'quota system'. Your selection of introductory opinions best illustrate what you are up to. It is not justice at the part of urban elite to fight to snatch from their poor
brethren what they are having in their hand instead of fighting for their right of equal opportunities.

Bahadur Khan
England
The quota system should not be extended. It was brought about for a limited period and the areas given protection should have been developed by now. Such areas will remain neglected if this system is extended. Besides, it is against basic human rights and has mostly been misused by people who were not residents of those areas and have undeservingly got better service groups over the heads of people who performed better.

N Mian
USA
I have to agree with Ammad Lone and Abbas on the uselessness of the quota system. It is an aggravating system by which people are given jobs and allowed access to formal education on the basis of their domiciles and cultural background. Jobs and education must be given to deserving, qualified experienced and motivated people on the basis of merit. Mr. AS from USA and M.T. Khan are arguing on who received better and who did not. Little do they know and appreciate that whosoever got the job or education has failed to yield good results in terms of economic prosperity. Two years ago when my family took the step of coming to Canada, I was warned by my friends in school to watch out for racism. It’s now that when I look back, I realise the amount of discrimination people go through everyday in Pakistan. A simple example is the question about your religious background, Shia/Sunni/Ahmadi, in a school admission application. Whoever controls the government offices, PIA or any other government agency has not done a good job at all. It is time that we revise our system and see what happens. Maybe giving jobs to the right people will work out to benefit all the Pakistanis.

Murtaza Alam
Toronto
Canada.
Quota system must be limited. There should be only provincial quota and maximum 25 % of the total.

M. Asif
It is appalling that we Pakistanis have learnt nothing from our experiences of the last 30 years. Quota system promotes mediocrity, and impedes progress. In the United States, Social Scientists have been making similar blunders. United States of America has had its own version of quota system called "Affirmative Action" program. This program went into effect roughly about the same time period, as the Pakistani experiment with the so-called " quota system ".
After thirty years, it was discovered that the blacks and Hispanic minorities were worse off than before. Human beings are inherently lazy by nature. If someone can get something without striving for it, they would prefer not to work too hard to get it. Consequently, this makes them lazier as there remains no challenge. Take the case of sports, for the sake of argument, let’s say we extend this " quota system " concept to our national cricket team. What if we start selecting cricket players, not on the basis of performance, but on the basis of provincial Quotas. Can you imagine the disgrace such a team would bring to our nation? We need to foster healthy competition, and reward the best and the brightest. I think we should do away with this archaic system that have done nothing to improve the lot of the rural Pakistan. If the politicians are really serious about improving the standards of living in the rural areas, they should concentrate on providing free education through high-school level, and teach the children how to be better human beings. Pakistan is a nation where such social ills as nepotism, bribery, social injustice, and corruption are rife at every level of the government. We do not need to add the scourge of "quota system" to this list.

Atiq Mirza
I am just wondering how people are talking about Quota system. There is no need to oppose it or approve it. Just for an example. One of my friends recently passed the CSS exam- not on merit. He was able to pass it on Quota system. He is from Lahore but he bought the domicile of Baluchistan. Now because he passed the exam on Baluchistan Quota he will be posted in Lahore in his hometown (due to his contacts). He is so happy no one can imagine. But did he get it in the right way? The answer is No. What can we expect from such CSS officers? And please don't throw dirt on each other just for the sake of 2% "Quota officers".

Mohammad Tanveer
Chicago USA
The corrupt politicians want to control every thing they desire. We should have only 100% open merit in all walks of life including educational institutions and nothing else.

Uzair
The Quota system is one of the biggest hurdles in uniting all Pakistanis. Imagine that all the citizens are treated equally instead of nepotism and favouritism propagated by the so-called Quota system: wouldn't that be fulfilling the dream of the Great Quaid? The rulers in our country are used to fixing any problem economical or otherwise i.e. by spit and gum and look away from the root problem. The exploiters ruling our country do not want to provide facilities to the mass underdeveloped portion of our country by setting up schools, universities and other ventures in the rural areas instead they want to take from 10% the urban population which is barely accomplishing their own needs. This way they acquire two results in their favour. 1) Save the money, which should be spent on development projects and use it for their own luxuries. 2) Create hatred among the urban and rural population. What the situation was when Pakistan came into existence is not hidden from any Pakistani who studied history. 95% of the people living in the now Pakistan were illiterate and governmental position could not be offered to them. Now if some people think that those high-profile positions ought to have been given to the then illiterate masses then they are wrong. Most of the people who migrated from India in search of a dream land they called Pakistan were educated and therefore were given the positions and the number employees of that community in the civil services has reduced significantly since other communities have acquired education. The Bottom line is that Quota system is a slow poison given to Pakistan, which will eventually result in the division of people and I pray to Allah for unity among Pakistanis in particular and all Muslims in general.

Syed Hussain
New York, USA
I think that the quota system should not be extended, as it will be detrimental to the development of Pakistan. By having the quota system in place there is discrimination against those people who are educated and capable but cannot make to the government post as the quota allotted to their grouping has finished. On the other hand a person might be able to get a position in the government even though he is not qualified for it, because nobody from his grouping is interested to apply to the government or not enough qualified people are there to apply. Another thing which is wrong with the quota system even if it is implemented, is that the criteria used to administer this system is itself flawed. Anyone who knows the context in which the Pakistani system works will know that a person might be in possession of more than one domicile, and therefore may make it unfair for others when applying to any government post. I hope that the government understands that the people of Pakistan have become mature enough to get rid of this outdated system. And the government should look at the army, which has been employing people without the quota system in place.

Aqeel
Malaysia
Instead of extending the quota system the government should provide equal opportunities to all citizen of all regions.

Mumtaz
The National Assembly is considering extending quota system for another 20 years to benefit Punjabis living in Sindh. People in Sindh know very well who is behind that motion, it is time we realised the mistakes we had made in the past before it could cripple the starving Sindhies and Mohajirs living in Sindh. Punjabis have not learnt any lesson from the separation of East Pakistan and are creating the same situation in Sindh and Baluchistan. People who are suffering from this quota system are the poor Sindhies and Mohajirs, if I am wrong go and see any government and semi-government office in Sindh where it is hard to see any local officer. More than 45% of the total revenue comes from the city of Karachi and in return it gets less than 3% from the Federal Government. On top of it, more than 50% Sindh Government jobs go to the people who even don't belong to the province i.e. Sindh Police, Sindh and Baluchistan Regiment, AG Sindh etc. Now it is time to abolish this Quota System to restore peace and harmony in the troubled province of Sindh.

Shoaib
USA
I was very disappointed to read the comments of AS from New York. He has basically blamed Mohajirs for all the ills in Pakistan. Mohajirs got the best jobs in the beginning because Mohajirs had the highest literacy rate. At the time of partition, the literacy rate among Mohajirs was 25% and the literacy rate among the native people of Pakistan was only 6%. So that was the reason Mohajirs got the best jobs. Urdu-speaking Mohajirs had a higher literacy rate than the native Pakistanis because Mohajir areas like Dehli and UP were the centre of the Islamic empire in the subcontinent. Not only that, the Urdu-speaking areas in India had also very good leaders like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Ali Johar who paid a lot of attention to the education and progress of Muslims in that area. While on the other hand the areas comprising Pakistan were dominated by feudal lords who were loyal to British and who kept people in this area illiterate. So I have an advice for Mr/Ms AS from New York. Please don't blame others for your problems. If Sindhis and Punjabis are lagging behind Mohajirs, then it is not because of racism. Your own leaders are responsible and you are responsible for having such leaders. Even the poorest Mohajir sends his children to school while on the other hand in the rural Sindh and Punjab, we don't see much emphasis on education. In the end, I believe quota system is wrong and un-Islamic and Pakistan, which is an Islamic country, should not have it.

Owais Khanzada
USA
We have seen in the last decade that due to quota system the cities have been dragged to the stage of rural areas. Let the cities develop to the point where they can sustain the load of rural areas. Instead of making hostels in cities, which mostly serve the purpose of political student wings activities, make a few buildings in the less developed area to educate people there. We therefore won't need this medieval quota system any more.

Faraz
Simply it should be extended. If anybody opposes it, then he/she must have to provide opportunities to all the peoples of Pakistan equally. Say food, shelter, education, health and other benefits. Then the same can voice concern over the Quota system.

Asghar Memon
It is bad decision to extend it for 20 years, because if you are capable of doing any thing you will do it. Behind this is the idea of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to bring forth Sindhi pupils and allow them to have Engineering and Medical degrees. If a person gets 46% marks from village and another gets 79% from the city, then the former gets the seat instead of the latter. I think it is unfair. I vote for no.

Mazhar
USA
The Quota can only be implemented as a last measure, like a boat adrift in the ocean with limited food. After all, once the food is finished the weakest will die first of course. They will become food for the survivors until all will perish ultimately! The Quota will be lifted and become redundant when the boat reaches the land and find plenty of food! Let us call the food jobs & opportunities, call the boat Pakistan, and the sailors, let us call them Pakistanis! It becomes obvious that although Quota solved the problem for a while it did not help any one from a miserable end. Real solutions are needed. The implementers of the Quota system and the subsequent extenders of this system are from a class to which the advantages or the
disadvantages of the system do not apply. Therefore to them it is just another tool which furthers their political and personal agendas. Simply put, they are not adrift in the same boat every other Pakistani is. Do they really care what happens to the boat and its sailors? Some will jump off the boat and find land on their own and write e-mail messages
from Los Angeles, California!

Zahid Hussain
Los Angeles, California.
This will be the last nail in the coffin of 'united Pakistan'

Syed Zaheer
The quota system was put in place so that the people living in rural areas of Sindh could be up lifted, but unfortunately this has not been the case. All that the quota system has done is divide the people of Sindh. If some members of the National Assembly are seriously thinking of extending the quota system for another twenty years then all I have to say is "let the nincompoops resign".

Asya Jalil
Canada
National Assembly is the only reason for every bad thing happening in Pakistan.

Farid Haq
I think quota system is not good for the development of our country. I strongly oppose this system.

Syed Mohammad Rafay
New York
US
With the need of the hour the quota system was justified for a short while, but now it decades have passed, the end result is splitting of the country into two. Now if it continues the remaining one will split in to small portions. This had forced our educated youngsters to leave the country in search of education and better jobs. They never return due to fear that jobs are based on quota. This system allows incapable and undeserving people to work on jobs they do not deserve. It is discrimination against the deserving. The government should think about this, all matter should be based upon merit totally. The provincial jobs could have little quota for the suppressed, uneducated or low educated class. The quota system is doing harm to our country, the cream or jewel of talent is exported abroad, because they do not get proper jobs in their own country due to this curse of quota system. Since my student life I have been hearing about this, but it did not affect me, as I was least interested in government jobs. My advice to the talented ones is: if this goes on they need not worry, work in the private sectors and foreign companies within the country; there is meritocracy there.

Imtiaz Malik
Atlanta,
USA.
Punjabis have suffered the most because of the quota system. They were allotted less than their due quota in the first place and on top of this Mohajirs, with the support of the top Mohajir officials, managed to get fake Punjab domiciles, thus making the bad situation worse for the Punjabi candidates. No doubt, Punjab, which was the most affluent province before partition is probably the worst off economically today. The reason is that Mohajirs in the top slots made sure that majority of jobs went to their fellow Mohajirs at the expense of the rest of the Pakistanis. This resulted in a strong hold of Mohajirs in government jobs. They practically control banks, PIA and various government corporations. Since Mohajirs controlled every facet of the government, they made sure that most industries were installed in Karachi, robbing the rest of the country of their due share. This theft and rape of the country was done in a very systematic manner. At the time of partition, Liaqat Ali Khan opened the Khokhrapar border so that Mohajirs could come in ease and comfort. This influx continued till late 1950s. These Mohajirs were given jobs of their choices in the local and federal governments at the expense of local people. They were also given agricultural land freely in abundance. Soon Mohajirs came to control most of the urban areas in Sindh and held thousands of acres of fertile Sindhi land. This led to resentment in Sindh against the very existence of Pakistan. Against this backdrop of excesses and conspiracy by Mohajirs, quota system was introduced in Sindh. I think quota system should remain in Sindh, so that local Sindhis are not deprived of their rights.

AS
New York.
USA.
The Quota System was introduced in Pakistan by the Civilian Marshal Law Administrator Z.A.Bhutto. The government at that time took this step to promote literacy in interior Sindh and to bring the educational level of Interior Sindh people closer to that of urban Sindh populace. But after the imposition of this system the people of urban Sindh were pushed back to the wall. The quota they got was only 40% of the professional education and similar was the case in government jobs. The urban population of Sindh was heavily dominated by Mohajirs, and the Bhutto Government did not want to see Mohajirs in professional education as well as on government posts. The government was changed and General Zia extended the quota system for further 10 years. None of the elected governments has since taken any step to end that difference between urban and rural Sindh. Even that quota system has never been implemented properly and Mohajirs have therefore always suffered.

M.T.Khan
The quota system for jobs or anything is wrong. This system allows incapable people to work on jobs they do not deserve. It is discrimination against people who actually deserve and have the merit for the job.

Amaad Lone
Lahore
By extending the quota system, the National Assembly would simply ensure that Pakistan and its people never experience what is known as progress and prosperity. By doing so, Pakistan, already far behind the rest of the world, would be thrown back into the Stone Age to perhaps a point of no-return. With the burgeoning population and horrifying illiteracy, the only chance Pakistan has is to offer a system that requires individual skills and efforts rather than a system that accommodates undeserving instead of deserving. Islam emphasises on knowledge and piety. Piety is required for a just society and knowledge is essential for progress. At present Pakistan lacks both.

Saif Abbas
USA.

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