Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of information and Broadcasting has developed a negative trend of political recommendations and nepotism in the appointment of Information Attaches in the Pakistani embassies, missions and high commissions abroad.

The ministry called those candidates who even failed in the written test, held at NUML University Islamabad. Some 36 candidates appeared in the written test for the recruitment of 18 Information Attaches in BPS 18 to BPS-20. But 14 candidates were declared as having failed in the preliminary written test. It was a preset criterion that those candidates would be called for interview who would secure 60 per cent marks. The vacant vacancies of Information Attaches are seven in BPS-18, nine in Grade 19 and three in BPS-20, on which the induction would be made.

The high level selection board is working under the supervision of Secretary EP Wing Shafqat Mehmood , with Secretary Foreign Affairs, Secretary Information and Chairman PTV as members.

The documents which the Daily Times has , reveal that Dr Nizam –ud-Din Memon got 38 marks, whereas Mrs. Shahira Shahid got 56 marks. Similarly Muhammad Arshad Munir bagged 57, Muhammad Asim 55, Shafqat Abbas 52, Brij Lal Dosani 54, Sajeela Naveed 57, Tahir Nawaz 59, Raeesa Adil obtained 53 , Shahid Imran Ranjha 56, Laeeq Ahmed Bajwa 57 , Nazia Jabeen 57, Maleeha Shahid 57, Syed Hamza Saleem Gillani got 52 marks. Whereas the candidate who topped in the examination is Abid Saeed who obtained 78 marks. Nadim Haider KIyani remains in the second slot with 72 and Sultana Rizvi stands at third place by getting 71 marks.

The 22 candidates have been called for the interview but the selection board has included those candidates in the list who could not obtain 60 per cent marks. Thus the merit and rule and regulations have been kept aide causing, a wave of anxiety among those candidates, who qualified for the exams on merit.

The series of political recommendations is going on in the Ministry of Information for the last many weeks for selection to a lucrative job.