Jobs for minorities: Vacant posts to be filled under 5pc quota, says CM

LAHORE: Founder of Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, MNA, called on Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and discussed matters pertaining to the welfare of the minority communities.

The chief minister announced filling vacant posts for minorities under 5 percent quota for them. For this purpose, necessary data from the provincial government departments have been collected and the human rights & minorities affairs department has been directed to take early action in this regard. He regretted that the minority communities were disheartened due to the non-implementation of this job quota in the past. However, the PTI-led government has ensured 100 percent implementation of this facility, he stated and pointed out that minorities’ cells had been established in 40 departments along with the nomination of focal persons.

Additionally, minorities’ cells have also been established and focal persons have been nominated in nine divisions, 36 districts and 144 tehsils in the province to ensure timely solutions to minorities’ related issues. This has been helping in the prompt solution of minorities problems at the grassroots, the chief minister repeated and added that Rs2.5 billion were being spent on minority communities' welfare in 2021-22.

While giving the details of the Punjab government's efforts for the religious minorities, the chief minister added that a two percent quota for students of minority communities in higher education would open the doors of higher education to such students. Meanwhile, the Hindu temple in the Bhong area of Rahim Yar Khan has been refurbished along with the approval of establishing an SDPO office in the area which would be functionalised soon, he continued.

The role of minority communities in national development cannot be ignored, he noted and pointed out that the Constitution fully protects the fundamental rights of minorities. The minority communities enjoy the same rights and solid measures have been taken to ensure equal opportunities for them, he emphasised and concluded that these steps had helped the minorities to take an active part in the national development. Ramesh Kumar appreciated the practical steps taken by the Punjab government for the minorities’ welfare and added that the chief minister deserved appreciation for restoring the Hindu temple in Bhong. The HR & Minorities Affairs Department has implemented minorities' job quota and its performance is better than other provinces as the provincial government has taken a lead in the welfare of the minorities, he added.

Meanwhile, Usman Buzdar strongly condemned the brutality of the Indian army in IIOJK and asked the United Nations to take immediate notice of it. In a statement issued here, the chief minister said occupied Indian armed forces had perpetrated an act of barbarism by martyring four Kashmiris, including a trader, adding that no one could even think of such cruelty and these sort of tragic incidents in IIOJK were enough to open the eyes of the global community. He appealed to the world to take notice of this barbarity as the unending killing spree had exposed the savagery of the Modi regime. He said that India was involved in the spate of extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris for long and the UN should play its role in stopping the growing Indian cruelties in IIOJK.

“The Hindu supremacist Modi regime will have to be answerable for its cruelties meted out against innocent Kashmiris while there’s no justification for the silence of the global community over Indian barbarism”, concluded the CM.