PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission’s compulsory screening test policy for sifting candidates for written examination and described it a dictatorial decision of the provincial government.

Addressing a protest demonstration of the candidates outside Peshawar Press Club on Monday, ANP provincial spokesperson MPA Samar Haroon Bilour said that Public Service Commission charged Rs1,500 from each candidate but all the candidates were not allowed to appear in the written examination.

She said that only 25 candidates qualifying the screening test would become eligible to appear in the written examination for one post.

She said that 95 per cent candidates were deprived of the chance to appear in the written examination at the initial stage which was sheer injustice.

The ANP lawmaker said that the screening test policy caused a sense of deprivation among the intelligent candidates. The government, she said, should restore the previous policy wherein candidates securing 40 per cent passing marks were eligible for the test.

She said that the previous policy was merit-based and acceptable to the candidates. She said that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was negating its own policy about provision of jobs to millions of youth.

Ms Bilour said that government should clarify as to why Rs1,500 had been charged from each candidate if all of them were not allowed to appear in the written examination.

Ikramullah Yousafzai, who represented the protesters, said that jobless people had to wait for four years to appear in the competitive examination but the government disappointed them by adopting the new policy.

Holding banners and placards inscribed with their demands, the protesters also chanted slogans against the provincial government, Public Service Commission and demanded restoration of the previous recruitment policy. They threatened to launch a protest movement if government did not accept their demands.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2021