ISLAMABAD: All the constable posts in the capital police reserved for women belonging to Sindh urban, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Kashmir were filled while many posts reserved for Islamabad (18), Sindh rural, Balochistan and tribal districts still remain vacant due to unavailability of eligible candidates.

Officers of the capital police told Dawn that seven women - five from Punjab and two from Islamabad - were also selected on the basis of open merit. There were 63 seats on open merit, they added.

As many as 34 male candidates from Punjab, 10 from KP, four from Islamabad, two each from Azad Kashmir and Balochistan and one each from tribal districts, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh rural and Sindh urban were also selected on open merit.

Earlier, the capital police had advertised 1,668 posts of constable after one and a half decade, for which over 148,000 applications were received.

All posts reserved for KP, Sindh (rural) and Azad Kashmir filled, say police officer

In this regard, a recruitment board under chairmanship of DIG Awais Ahmed and a recruitment committee headed by SSP Dr Khuram Raheed were constituted. After scrutiny, 110,000 applications were approved for physical tests and only 26,000 applicants passed it.

In written tests, the passing marks was 50pc for objective and 50pc for subjective subjects and out of the total 8,800 passed the test.

Later, interviews were conducted and 1,607 candidates were selected for medical tests and police verification.

From Islamabad, 16 general and 18 women, from Sindh rural four women and five minority, from Sindh urban three minority, from KP five minority, from Azad Kashmir one minority, from Balochistan two women and three minority and from erstwhile Fata one woman and one minority seats are still vacant.

Out of the total 1,607 selected candidates, 725 have matriculation certificates, 399 intermediate, 263 FSc, 78 were with bachelor’s degrees, 58 held diploma of associate engineering, 31 BS honours, 30 BSc, 16 master’s degrees, four BBA, two MPhil/MS degrees and one has an LLB degree.

Likewise, 1,399 are males, including 39 from minorities, while 208 are females, including 31 from minorities.

Medical tests and police verification of the selected candidates will be conducted soon. The new recruitment will increase the strength of the police by 16pc, said the officers.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023