KARACHI, Dec 11: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has initiated action against a former controller of examinations of the Sindh Public Service Commission, Omar Zaur, after detection of irregularities in various examinations.

The chief minister also recommended to the Sindh governor to order an inquiry into the affairs of the SPSC by a judge of the High Court. He also recommended the removal of its chairman, Mohammad Hasan Bhutto.

“After the surfacing of proofs of irregularities in the examinations and the appointment of a deputy district attorney (DDA) in the law department, measures are being taken to conduct a detailed inquiry into the examinations conducted by the present chairman and during the tenure of former examinations controller Zaur,” he said.

There were apprehensions that merit and transparency were violated in the examinations and subsequent appointments, the chief minister said while speaking at a press conference at the CM House on Monday.

He said that recently petitions were filed in the SHC, Hyderabad bench, challenging the appointment of a DDA. When the record of the appointment of DDAs was reviewed to file a reply to court notices, it was revealed that 25 of the 70 candidates who had been called for interview did not meet the criteria. The cut-off point for interview was 47 marks, but even a woman candidate who had minus three marks had been called for interview. Seven candidates who had failed the written examinations had been appointed on the recommendation of the commission, the chief minister said.

He said during his recent visit to the SPSC headquarters in Hyderabad, he had received many complaints from different quarters that the commission had fixed a rate of Rs0.5 million to Rs1 million to pass a candidate.

He said that due to these complaints, he had cancelled the examinations for recruitment of medical officers and had asked the commission chairman to hold an inquiry into the examinations. He said he had changed the controller of examinations and appointed a new controller.