Islamabad (GNP): President Asif Ali Zardari has underscored the need for merit, transparency, and professionalism in recruitment for public service positions.
He made these remarks while receiving the FPSC Annual Report 2024 from FPSC Chairman Akhtar Nawaz Satti, who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The President said the Federal Public Service Commission plays an important role in good governance by ensuring that capable and deserving candidates are chosen to fill professional and technical roles in government. He commended the Commission’s efforts to modernize its internal processes and move toward a more efficient, paperless recruitment system, and urged it to continue prioritizing merit, transparency, and professionalism in order to maintain the public’s trust.
The President was told that in 2024, the Commission recommended 1,816 candidates for appointment across various ministries and divisions under its general recruitment process. Of 1,722 advertised vacancies, the Commission received 274,566 fresh applications.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla also attended the meeting.
Separately, the FPSC issued a statement addressing recent media reports suggesting a roughly 45 percent drop in applicants for the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam between 2022 and 2025 — coverage that has circulated widely across print, electronic, and social media, and has been interpreted by some as a sign that young Pakistanis are losing interest in or trust in the civil service.
The Commission said its own data does not support this narrative. According to FPSC figures, the number of candidates registering for the initial screening test (MPT) ranged from roughly 54,000 to 64,000 each year between 2022 and 2025, with 61,753 registering in 2022 and 64,081 in 2025 — actually a slight increase. The number sitting for the written CSS exam declined somewhat over the same period, from 32,059 applicants in 2022 to 18,139 in 2025, with the number ultimately allocated positions ranging between roughly 141 and 239 candidates per year across the period, including a Special 2023 exam cycle.
The FPSC said the news report appears to have relied on an incorrect 2022 figure and focused narrowly on the difference between applicant numbers in 2022 and 2025, without accounting for the much larger pool of candidates who sit for the initial screening test each year. It also noted the report failed to factor in the Special CSS-2023 exam, through which 141 candidates — including women, minorities, and applicants from underprivileged regions — were allocated positions under a special government initiative, which had ripple effects on subsequent years’ figures.
Based on this data, the FPSC maintains that securing a position in the civil service through CSS remains a highly competitive goal for Pakistani youth, and said it remains committed to supporting accurate, well-researched reporting on such matters going forward.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
