THE principal of the Police Training Centre, Rawalpindi, Superintendent of Police Abrar Hussain Nekokara reportedly committed suicide in his office.

This is not the first time that a senior civil servant has ended his life possibly owing to mental stress, depression or psychological complications. Even if this happened because of some family issues, it is alarming that a person selected to look into public grievances failed to cope his own personal issues.

The Federal Public Service Commission needs to look into this matter seriously and determine how people with depressive outlook in life are able to pass the psychometric evaluation and the interview during the selection process.

The candidates in civil service are selected to alleviate sufferings of the people. How can a person, irrespective of his academic qualifications and exceptional scores in the competitive examinations, suffering from any psychological condition, guide his subordinates or serve people in a valuable manner?

Muhammad Arslan Mehmood
Toba Tek Singh

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2020