Senator raises quota concerns over PARC recruitment before Senate panel

ISLAMABAD: Senator Poonjo Bheel told a Senate committee on Wednesday that the recruitment process at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) appeared to have breached the provincial quota arrangement protected under Article 38(g) of the Constitution, arguing that the recent appointments were tilted towards candidates from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The issue came up during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research at Parliament House, where members reviewed matters related to recent hiring at PARC. Senator Bheel said the pattern of appointments had, in effect, denied qualified candidates from Sindh and Balochistan their due share in federal jobs.

PARC response to objections

Responding to the concerns, PARC officials informed the committee that four to five candidates from Sindh had already been appointed on merit. They told the panel the organisation had no intention of discriminating against smaller provinces and said interviews for candidates from Sindh and Balochistan were scheduled for the following week.

PARC representatives also explained that written tests were being conducted separately in phases across all four provinces. The committee, however, recommended that results from all provinces should be announced and published at the same time rather than released province by province, saying this would help strengthen transparency and prevent any impression of unequal treatment.

Committee seeks further details

The panel was told that all appointments were being made strictly on merit. PARC also informed the committee that what it described as a coordinated propaganda drive had been launched against the organisation, alleging that artificial intelligence had been used to manipulate and malign the recruitment results. The committee recommended that show-cause notices be issued to any employees found to be involved in such activities.

The committee chairman directed PARC to present, at the next meeting, complete information on the appointing authority responsible for making and approving the appointments. The department was also asked to submit a full list, with relevant particulars, of the 105 candidates whose interviews are still pending.

During the briefing, the committee was informed that 230 posts had been advertised in national newspapers and on the official PARC website. Officials said the recruitment test was conducted by the third-party Candidates Testing Services (CTS), and that the top five candidates for each post were shortlisted for interviews. So far, appointment letters have been issued to 125 candidates, while 105 cases remain pending.

The meeting was attended by Senators Rahat Jamali, Shahadat Awan and Poonjo Bheel.