THIS is apropos of a notice being flashed on the website of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding ‘update on recruitment in NAB’ whereby the Islamabad High Court has issued restraining order on the writ petition filed by some candidates who perhaps didn’t make it to the interview stage.

Owing to the restraining order, NAB is unable to issue appointment letters to selected candidates for BPS 1 to 19. I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the matter that for some time on social media it is being bandied about that these would-be appointments are politically motivated and all or some candidates are destined to get the job due to their political affiliations and at the cost of deserving candidates.

Some sections of the media are also bent on finding a political link to these appointments. It is my concern and also duty to present facts that the undersigned is also a candidate (BPS 18) and knows dozens of others who took the test, got through and then sat for the psychological test. At this point many of my acquaintances couldn’t make to the next stage but some did.

The candidates who made it are not well-wheeled rather ordinary folks working in BPS 17 and 18 in different federal and provincial government departments, as well as in public sector enterprises (PSEs).

The timing of election season and completion of recruitment process is just a coincidence and doesn’t establish causation. It is my appeal to the authorities adjudicating on the writ petition to decide it early as the legitimate concerns of petitioners must be resolved in letter and in spirit of the law, but at the same time letting extraneous matters to muddy the whole recruitment process would do harm to 400 plus families of legitimate and deserving candidates. The recruitment process has already taken well over a year now.

A CANDIDATE     Chishtian