MUZAFFARABAD, July 7: Five candidates below 35, who applied for the posts of deputy director (finance) and deputy registrar in BPS-18 in the AJK University in response to an advertisement suffered a setback.

One of the candidates, Mahnaz Kadir Kanth, who is a research officer in AJK Planning and Development Department since 1995, also sought redress from the AJK president and varsity's chancellor Sardar Mohammad Anwar Khan. But, nevertheless she or other four were not considered for the interviews which began on Wednesday for being below 35 years.

According to details, the AJKU had invited applications for several vacant posts, ranging from BPS-17 to BPS-19. For the BPS-18 posts, the varsity put a condition that the applicants should be of 35 to 40 years of age.

Ms Kanth, a business administration post-graduate from the Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and also a post-graduate in "Gender and Development" from the University of Sussex UK, met the Vice Chancellor Dr Manzoor Hussain to bring what she said unjustified 'lower age limit' condition in his notice.

Initially, the VC expressed ignorance about any such condition, but even after coming to know that it did exist he allowed Ms Kanth to submit her application. Later, smelling a rat, Ms Kanth again approached the VC so that call letter for the interview was issued to her.

But, the VC maintained that the "relaxation of lower age limit rule could infringe on the rights of those who were 35 or above." The lower age limit rule does not exist in any other public or private sector varsity in the country.

Of late, the Higher Education Commission, which is the supervisory body of the public and private sector universities, invited applications for appointments against some vacant posts and there was only upper age limit and no mention of lower age limit.