Senate panel sees heated exchange between Dinesh Kumar, Anusha Rahman over Balochistan job quota

A heated exchange took place between Senator Dinesh Kumar and Senator Anusha Rahman on Monday during a meeting of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee as members debated the implementation of Balochistan’s job quota in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported 24NewsdHD TV channel.

Senator Dinesh Kumar raised questions over appointments made under the Balochistan quota and accused the ministry of favouring Punjab and the federal quota.

“Tell us how many of your people have been accommodated,” Dinesh Kumar said during the meeting.

As Anusha Rahman intervened, Dinesh Kumar objected and said he should be allowed to complete his remarks.

“I am speaking. If the chairman asks me to stop, I will fall silent,” he said.

Dinesh Kumar also claimed that Anusha Rahman had told him outside the committee a day earlier that he was “overstepping”.

“What is Senator Dinesh Kumar so angry about?” Anusha Rahman asked during the exchange.

Dinesh Kumar alleged that jobs were being given disproportionately to Punjab and said Balochistan was not receiving its due share.

He claimed that only one percent quota had been allocated to Balochistan in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and alleged that the province’s six percent quota had been “usurped”.

He further said women and minorities from Balochistan had also been ignored in appointments.

“The Federation and Punjab have been favoured,” he alleged.

The committee sought details from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding implementation of Balochistan’s six percent quota.

Foreign Ministry officials told the committee that quota rules were not applied to appointments made on deputation.

They also said there was no separate federal quota for jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Reporter: Bilal Khan Niazi