OVER the last few years, most government job advertisements published in leading newspapers have been clearly asking applicants to apply online through the National Job Portal. The portal was intro-duced with the promise of transparency, merit and equal opportunities for all eligible candidates. Unfortunately, the actual experience of many applicants raises serious concerns about whether these objectives are truly being met.

My friends and I have collectively applied for more than 80 government job vacancies through the said portal. In all these cases, we fulfilled the eligibility criteria in terms of education, experience and age. Despite this, we have not received a single response, call, email or notification regarding shortlisting, testing or interview. What is even more concerning is the fact that the portal itself continues to show that many of our applications have not even been ‘viewed’ by the respective departments.

This situation creates serious doubts about the transparency and effectiveness of the hiring process. When applications remain ‘un-viewed’ for months, it raises questions about whether recruitment is genuinely being conducted through the portal, or if it is merely a formality to fulfil procedural requirements. For young graduates and professionals who invest time, effort and hope into applying for these positions, such silence is deeply discouraging.

The portal was envisioned as a central- ised system to reduce favouritism and ensure merit-based recruitment. However, the apparent lack of feedback, application tracking and accountability undermines public trust in the system.

This lack of transparency contributes to frustration among the educated youth, increases scepticism towards public institutions, and weakens confidence in government-led reforms. At a time when unemployment has already become a major challenge, recruitment systems should inspire confidence rather than suspicion.

The authorities concerned should review and improve the system. Clear timelines for application review, mandatory status updates, and public disclosure of recruitment outcomes would go a long way in restoring trust.

Additionally, departments should be held accountable if they fail to properly utilise the portal. Corrective action may enable the portal to serve its intended purpose.

Mehran Khan
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026