Merit trumped: AJK lawmaker gets favourite appointed

Candidate with the highest marks removed from merit list.

ISLAMABAD:

A senior politician allegedly exerted pressure on the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Public Service Commission to change the merit list for the job of a political science expert to get his favourite appointed, a source said.

The source said interviews for the position of a political science specialist were conducted by the commission on June 19. After the interviews, Sajida got the highest marks, he added. Sajida was told her name was on top of the merit list and the result would be announced in two to three days. To Sajida’s surprise, when the result was announced, her name was nowhere to be seen on the merit list and in her place, Rabia Ali, a candidate allegedly favoured by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Ghulam Sadiq Khan, was declared successful.

The source said, the speaker had met with the commission officials and told them about his favourite, while the interviews were underway. “Initially, the commission members did not give in to his demand and prepared the result with Sajida’s name on top of the merit list. After Khan came to know about the merit list, he again visited the commission’s office and pressured the officials to accommodate his favourite. The commission caved in to his demand and changed the merit list, declaring Ali successful, he added.

AJK Public Service Commision Chairman Mumtaz Naqvi, when contacted, told The Express Tribune that he was not aware of the incident. A written application may be submitted to the commission if anybody has a problem with the result and an inquiry will be initiated, he stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2013.