Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar on Friday said government jobs should not be treated as rewards for political loyalty, alleging that political and family identities had influenced the recruitment of assistant teachers at government primary schools.

“Government jobs are not rewards for allegiance to any political party,” he said in a press statement issued yesterday

“Political or family identity cannot be a substitute for merit and qualification,” he added.

Porwar expressed concerns over reports that at least 778 finally selected candidates in 27 districts had not received appointment letters despite passing the written and viva examinations.

He alleged that many candidates had been excluded from the recruitment process in the name of verification, raising questions about transparency and impartiality in public sector recruitment.

Questioning the exclusion of candidates after their final selection, the Jamaat leader asked under what law and criteria, and on whose decision, they had been dropped.

He said the government must publish a full list of the candidates who had not received appointment letters and disclose the specific reasons for excluding each of them.

Porwar also demanded that the authorities make the verification criteria public and launch an impartial investigation into allegations of irregularities and discrimination in the recruitment process.

He called for accountability for those responsible and immediate appointments for any candidates found to have been unfairly excluded.