GILGIT: Candidates from Gilgit-Baltistan staged a protest in front of the GB House in Islamabad on Monday, demanding of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to extend the date of the competitive examinations.

The protesters were holding placards and chanting slogans.

They said the FPSC had recently advertised 49 posts, and set Nov 29 for commencement of the examination.

They said holding of the examination in such a short span of time after the advertisement was travesty of justice and equality. They said there was no precedent of a competitive examination being scheduled on such a short notice after the publication of the advertisement.

They demanded of the authorities concerned to extend the examination date till March.

Haidar Abbas hailing from Shahyar village of Nagar said the GB Assembly had through a legislation increased the maximum age of candidates to 38 years from 33 for appearing in the competitive examinations, but the FPSC in its advertisement had fixed the maximum age at 33.

Imdad Hussain, another candidate, said according to the rules of FPSC, the examination was held after five to six months of the publication of the advertisement of any post.

“However, the commission is holding the competitive exams for GB candidates only two months after publication of the advertisement, which is unjust,” he regretted.

He said the syllabus for the said examination was too lengthy to be covered in short time.

The protesters said the examination was scheduled at a time when the temperatures in GB reached the freezing point. Besides, they said the region was also facing prolonged power outages.

The protesters demanded of the chief minister to take up the matter with the relevant authorities. They also announced to move court against the FPSC decision.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2021