KARACHI, Nov 22: Although the Sindh government has not yet formally lifted ban on recruitment, some departments have started publicizing vacancies in newspapers.

The Auqaf department has released advertisement to print media inviting applications for 80 posts ranging from assistant executive engineer to sweeper and giving only two days to the candidates to submit their applications and prepare for an interview.

The advertisement, appearing only in two papers, one Urdu and the other Sindhi, asks the candidates to ensure their applications with documents reaching the chief administrator of Auqaf at Dargah Mehmood Shah Bokhari, Hyderabad, within two days and appear for an interview at 11am on Saturday.

Such a short notice for the purpose has no logic to support the concerned authorities’ claim about transparency and merit being observed in the process, some of the aspirants told Dawn on phone.

They maintained that on the one hand, the department has sought complete applications supported by relevant documents and also asked the candidates to appear for interview within 48 hours, and on the other publicized the vacancies in just two selected newspapers. These requirements are next to impossible for hundreds of candidates to meet, they added. They indicated that there might be a lot of candidates presently residing or having been to far off places like Sukkur, Nawabshah, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, etc. “How is it possible for them to ensure receipt of their applications or to appear before the chief administrator in Hyderabad within 48 hours?”

Terming the whole exercise ‘mere formality’, they apprehended that favourite might already have been selected for appointment.

They demanded of the governor to take notice of the situation.