PDP calls for strengthening principle of merit

KARACHI: There is a growing need to strengthen the principle of merit in Sindh’s system of public appointments, admissions and opportunities, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Sunday. Sindh needs a system in which every qualified young person can compete with confidence, and the best available talent can be selected, he said. He said one important reform deserving serious public and legal consideration is the introduction of a single provincial domicile system for Sindh, rather than maintaining separate rural and urban domicile categories. Sindh is constitutionally one province, and its citizens should ultimately be able to identify themselves through one provincial domicile while competing under transparent and clearly defined rules, he said. The present system distinguishes between urban and rural categories for certain recruitment purposes. Under existing Sindh Public Service Commission rules, for example, recruitment quotas include a 40 percent share for specified urban areas and 60 percent for other cities and rural areas. While such arrangements may have historical and constitutional reasons, they should be periodically reviewed to determine whether they are still achieving their intended purpose, he said. A system designed to address under-representation should not permanently replace efforts to develop equal educational and economic opportunities across the province, he said. He said the supporters of a single domicile argue that provincial unity and open competition would allow candidates to be assessed more directly on qualification and performance. Critics, however, may reasonably fear that removing existing categories could enable candidates from better-developed urban centres to dominate opportunities, particularly where disparities in schooling, income, infrastructure and access to preparation remain substantial. These concerns cannot be dismissed as opposition to merit, he said. A single Sindh domicile would therefore need to be accompanied by safeguards against unequal competition, he said. A merit-based system must therefore be accompanied by equal access to quality education and preparation. Merit cannot be meaningful when children from different parts of the province do not have comparable opportunities to acquire education and skills, he said. The government should focus particularly on improving schools, colleges, vocational institutions and professional training facilities in underserved districts, he urged. The Constitution recognises the importance of equality and fairness in public services while also allowing measures to address the under-representation of particular classes or areas, subject to constitutional limits and applicable law, he said. Sindh needs an institutional culture in which a student’s background, place of residence or administrative classification does not overshadow his or her ability to perform, he said. A young person from Thar, Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Karachi or any other part of Sindh should be able to aspire to meaningful opportunities on the basis of competence and hard work, he said. A single provincial domicile, if introduced through lawful consultation and accompanied by strong safeguards for representation and equal access, could provide a stronger foundation for Sindh’s future. It should be viewed not as an immediate solution to every disparity, but as part of a broader reform agenda combining merit, provincial unity, constitutional compliance and social justice, he said. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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