THE army has a quota in the Central Superior Service, and civil service examinations are the most authentic and prestigious examinations in our country. These examinations judge the overall calibre of a person willing to join the Civil Service.

Our army was allocated quota as a favour by dictator Gen Ziaul Haq during his reign by amending the law through his puppet parliament.

The quota is allocated for the top three groups in Civil Services of Pakistan, i.e. Police Service of Pakistan, Pakistan Administrative Service (former DMG) and Foreign Service of Pakistan.

The serving commissioned officers of the three forces join civil bureaucracy without taking any kind of written examinations.

This is sheer injustice to the candidates who have to burn midnight oil even to pass the examinations.

In the beginning (when this wicked law was passed), the army inductees were given last positions in the seniority list. When Zia came to know about this, he added icing to the cake by passing a law in which the army inductees were given topmost slots in the seniority list.

They were given marks equal to the top scorer of the group they had joined. This infringes upon the merits of this examination.

Nowadays, the PPP talks big that it has restored the constitution as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had wanted it. I would like to draw their attention to this infamous amendment by Gen Zia of not only inducting army men into the Civil Service but also placing them second to none.

This demoralises prospective Central Superior Service candidates who are genuinely judged by undergoing written assessment.

The placement of army inductees on top of the seniority list is also infamous among the group members. This quota should be abolished immediately.

Therefore, I request the sitting lawmakers to do away with the unrighteous law and foul play by Gen Zia who said: “What is a constitution? Just a piece of paper, which I can tear apart and throw away anytime”.

IMTIAZ AWAN Islamabad