KARACHI: The government of Pakistan has decided to carry out an audit of the selection process that has been carried out by ministries and their departments for recruitment for a total 98,378 posts. In this regard, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has invited proposals from qualified and experienced consulting firms to carry out an audit of the recruitment process that has been followed in ministries and departments including Aviation (2960), Communication (1114), Defense Production (6657), Industries & Production (193), Information & Broadcasting (746), Interior (57845),Law and Justice (263), National History & Literacy Heritage (92), National Food Security & Research (529), OP& HRD (487), Petroleum & Natural Resources (2906), Port & Shipping (245), Revenue (2699), and Water &Power (17219) for recruitment against total 9,39,55 posts in Basic Pay Scale (BPS) system. Similarly, the audit for recruitment against 40 posts would also be performed in Management Position (MP) system in ministries and their divisions including Commerce (7), Human Rights (8), Law and Justice (9), National History & Literary Heritage (1), Planning Development & Reform (10) and Textile Industry (5). The PMO also wants to carry out an audit of the recruitment process against 4383 posts and positions filled in ministries or divisions of Cabinet (197), Industries & Production (674), Law and Justice (2), National History & Literary Heritage (17), Petroleum & Natural Resources (1229), National Health Services Regulation and Coordination (179), Planning Dev. & Reform (1798) and Ports & Shipping (287) excluding MP or BPS systems. The Government of Pakistan says it follows a clearly laid out recruitment policy for the federal government that claims strict adherence to merit in the process of filling all vacancies at ministries, divisions, attached departments, subordinate offices, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, companies and authorities. The PMO has sought proposals from consulting firms and organizations to undertake a critical and meticulous audit of the selection process that has been carried out by ministries and their departments and advise on whether the spirit of merit and transparency had been strictly adhered to. According to the government, the major objective of this assignment is to independently review and validate the process of recruitment and selection of employees in all categories hired by the Government of Pakistan at selected ministries, divisions, attached departments, subordinate offices, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, companies and authorities. The assignment is expected to be complete in 16 weeks. However, the client is flexible on the time frame while the consulting firm will work under the direct supervision of the PMO/PMDU and will report to Awais e Siraj, Team Leader, at the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit.