LAHORE: A four-member committee on Monday began interviews of retired army officers for ‘nucleus staff’ against 11 contractual posts being created under the proposed Counter-Terrorism Force.

The provincial police chief has already raised objections to the recruitment of army officers on certain grounds.

A police source close to the development told Dawn that 60 candidates with ranks of major, colonel and brigadier appeared before the committee headed by the chief secretary and comprising home secretary, services and general administration secretary, the provincial police chief and the additional IG Counter-Terrorism Department.

He said as many as 230 candidates, who were short-listed out of 477 candidates applied in current month, would appear in interviews to be lasted for four days.

Punjab Minister for Environment Protection and Police Reforms Col (retired) Shuja Khanzada told this reporter that the final list of candidates would be presented to the chief minister after a week for selection of 11 candidates.

He said he himself, the chief minister and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah would select 11 candidates, adding the selected ones would be issued call letters around Feb 10, 2014.

The minister said corporals being recruited against 1,000 posts would likely to join training after March 30.

Asked why the recruitment process was continuing without any legal cover or notification issued by the Punjab government, Khanzada claimed the recruitment process was under way following the minutes of a prime minister’s meeting regarding creation of new force, but a formal notification would be issued after the induction of nucleus staff and start of training for corporals.

The minister responding to another question claimed the new structure would likely to work under the IGP.

Meanwhile, a police source, who is the part of police protests, confided to this reporter that PSP officers who held two meetings in the past to protest the government’s move to raise an independent force without the Punjab police, went on back foot because of divisions in police ranks, fear of victimisation and loss of key posts.

He said the PSP Punjab chapter association office-bearers were also ‘divided’ on future course of action keeping in view uncertainty among police officers that who would command the new force -- IGP or the home secretary.

He said though a group of police officials were trying to mobilise officers for another protest, their efforts seemed to be futile.

The source further said it seemed that most of mid-career and junior officers, who took part in the protests, were strongly realising that their seniors would not join them against the PML-N-led government and DMG officers who both were raising the force as per their plans.