Quota Systems In Pakistan: A Case Study Of Kashmiri Refugee’s Quota

Abstract

The refugee influx into the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), especially during major historical events that have triggered them, includes the partition of India in 1947, the wars between Pakistan and India, and the armed rebellion after 1989, the last one being the protracted flight of refugees as the conflict between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir has dragged on since then. The article examines the socio-political integration and identity issue of the post-1989 Kashmiris refugees in the process of quota system in the AJK. The paper has used administrative categorization based on official statistics, historical overview, and qualitative data (obtained through interviews) to analyse the patterns of resettlement as well as political representation of refugee in AJK. It testifies how the quota of the post-1989 refugee population, which is 6% in the sphere of employment and education, not only enables but also subjects the displaced population to marginalisation. The results indicate that although quota systems are set up to reverse historic injustices and offer a formal inclusion, they in fact lead to creation of novel types of exclusion and the deepening of the ideas of otherness in displaced populations living internally. This paper presents an opportunity to reconsider the quota machineries and the necessity of the participatory as well as inclusive policy frameworks in a region that can help to release the hopes and rights of the refugee communities under political disputes.