Students hoping to become commissioned officers in any of the Pakistani security forces have no way of knowing if they have been selected for the Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) interview because the page of ‘Call Letters’ at the board’s official website (www.issb.com.pk) has been “Underconstruction [sic]” for more than 18 months.
It has been learnt that successful candidates in the long course, the technical cadet course and the medical course for becoming commissioned officers do not have a way of finding out if they have been selected for the ISSB interview, which is the final selection examination for getting into the Pakistan Army, the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Navy.
“After the required intelligence, medical and physical tests at the respective selection centres of the three armed forces, the successful candidates are called for the final selection that is called the ISSB, and for that, the candidates have to visit the official website and open the ‘Call Letter’ page to see whether or not they have been selected,” said one of the candidates.
However, he added, when you open that page, you will find that it is under construction, and this has been the case for more than 18 months.
He said, “Besides checking the page, you are asked to call the headquarters at Kohat (0922-9260085), but you can never get through the centre’s number. So, you try your luck by calling the regional centre at Gujranwala (055-26933814), and they say they don’t know anything about call letters. And if you call the ISSB centre at Malir (021-34253695), that number is never attended by anyone.”
“Not only this, when you e-mail the ISSB, you receive an automated reply saying ‘Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: [email protected]’ because ‘it was rejected by the recipient domain.’ This happens because their mailbox quota has ‘exceeded’,” he added.
In the end, the candidates have to rely solely on the “lethargic” Pakistan Post, and cross their fingers and hope the call letters reach them.
Some have to wait for a half-year before they receive their letters, while some have to apply once more, following all the gruelling procedures again.
It is pertinent to mention here that after completing their higher secondary school certificate, students apply for becoming commissioned officers in any of the three armed forces, and after the initial tests, the successful candidates are told that their call letters would be dispatched from Kohat within two months.
They have three options to find out if they have been selected for the ISSB interview: check the ‘Call Letters’ page on the board’s website, call the Kohat headquarters, or receive the letters via Pakistan Post – none very pleasing.
