Equal footing

In January, the former chief minister of Punjab Pervaiz Elahi announced that the status of Mianwali district in southern Punjab had been raised to the division level, comprising the districts of Mianwali, Bhakkar and Talagang. Decentralization of power being the defining feature of democracy justifies this act. However, it has raised serious concerns among those living in the rural and remote areas of southern Punjab, who are struggling to find a place in the civil services and other public-sector institutions. The concerns are justified by the lack of facilities in these areas, which put them at a disadvantage when competing for public-sector jobs with those from the more developed areas of Punjab.

Under the previous arrangement, there was a specified quota for students from southern Punjab in the civil services. If, under the new system, Mianwali is counted as part of central Punjab as opposed to southern Punjab, the students of the region will be at a significant disadvantage. Hopefully, this will not be the case and, going forward, we must do more to ensure that students from all regions of the country can compete on an equal footing and have access to the same level of facilities.

Muhammad Mubasir Khan

Bhakkar