ASI candidates vying for power

LAHORE The terror of Punjab Police 'uniform has touched the pinnacle as mostly candidates, who appeared in a written test conducted for 136 posts of Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) here at University of Engineering and Technology (UET), wished to be so powerful to oppress their native opponents rather than having passion of public servants and to serve the deprived masses, TheNation has learnt. After attempting their written test, which was conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission under acute shortage of basic facilities like drinking water and catering on four to five small open grounds at UET, almost 16,500 candidates including about 500 females expressed their belongings as to be powerful personnel while in police department. Only one candidate out of 100 persons, who were thoroughly interviewed by this scribe, expressed to work as public servant if selected in the police department. The test was conducted simultaneously in Lahore at UET, Faisalabad Region: Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad, Gujranwala Region: Jinnah Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Region: DPS and College Murree Road Rawalpindi and in Police Lines of the concerned districts under the supervision of the Punjab Public Service Commission for total 728 posts of ASIs. Naseer Ullah Khan Babar, a candidate, openly said he was interested to join the Punjab police department as one can legally suppress his opponents in one way or the other. Replying to a query, he asked, Who is serving in this department. When already every police officer likes to own many bungalows, cars, bank accounts and property then why I should have passion to serve the people. Muddassar Chaudhary, another candidate, said the police department was the only powerful institution where one can successfully achieve what he desires. You better know excluding exceptional cases, each police officer is patronising gangsters, rapists, murderers and proclaimed offenders. Mind it, I am not going to change the set patterns of police department, he remarked. A 21-year-old Madiha Gauhar, a candidate who was also among the 500 female candidates for seven posts specified for them, boasting of her aspirations saying a uniformed woman needs nothing to say in words to her rival lady as the power of uniform is sufficient to shut her mouth. I can earn my livelihood by joining other departments but when you are in police you are powerful. You can do what you want to do, she added. However, Farah Shah complained the PPSC had earned Rs 6.6 million from these 16,500 candidates but the arrangements were very poor. She said the PPSC did not bother to arrange even drinking water or tents to avoid the candidates from scorching heat. We were called at 6:00 am but the test started at about 9:45 am, which lasted till 11:45 am. Even some candidates have left their test incomplete owing to sizzling heat, she further commented.