“May I come in Sir?” I asked, while standing at the doorstep of the interview hall at NAB Lahore.

“Yes please. Have a seat.” The DG HR NAB replied as I went near the chair placed there for the candidate.


“Introduce yourself.” He said.

“My name is Muhammad Ammad Ashique. I belong to District Sheikhupura. I have completed my Master of Commerce (3 ½ yrs) from Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab Lahore in 2016, and I am here today for an interview for the post of Deputy Assistant Director at National Accountability Bureau Lahore.”

"Tell me your three weaknesses." He said.

"I, sometimes, jump to the conclusions too early. Secondly, I am a bit less resistant to weather changes."

"And the third one?" He said.

"There are only two." I replied with a smile.

“What is the effect of business policy on the business?” He asked.
“It definitely has a lot of effect. The more the policy is investor-friendly, the more the investment is made. Unfortunately, we don’t have that much conducive environment for business here, but more the conducive it is for the investors; the better it is for the business.” I replied.

“There is an impression that marketing is deceptive. The product being sold isn’t the one that is advertised. What’s your take on it?” He asked.
“Well, I don’t agree with this statement. The reason is that the marketing essentially lies on the need of the customer. The customers’ need is first analysed, then a product is developed, is appropriately priced and then distributed.” I replied.

"اب وہ شیمپو دیتے ہیں۔کہتے ہیں اس سے بالوں میں سے خشکی ختم ہو جائے گی، بال گھنے ہو جائیں گے۔ ہوتا کچھ بھی نہیں۔ الٹا اس کا نقصان ہوتا ہے۔"

"سر ، اب یہ تو میں نہیں بتا سکتا کہ شیمپو نے اثر کیوں نہیں کیا، شاید اس کی کوئی میڈیکل وجہ ہو۔ لیکن مارکیٹنگ شروع ہی کسٹمر کی نیڈ سے ہوتی ہے ، اس لیے یہ تاثر غلط ہے کہ یہ دھوکہ دہی ہے۔ "

"لکھنؤ پیکٹ میں مسلمانوں کے کونسے مطالبات مانے گئے؟" ڈی جی نے پوچھا۔

"لکھنؤ پیکٹ میں مسلمانوں نے سیپریٹ الیکٹوریٹ کا مطالبہ منوایا اور شاید یہ پہلی اور آخری مرتبہ ہوا کہ مسلمان اور ہندو ایک جگہ اکٹھے ہوئے۔"

"اس کے علاوہ کوئی بات؟"

"اس کے علاوہ کوئی بات یاد نہیں۔"

"مرکزی حکومت کے حوالے سے کوئی بات یاد ہو تو؟" ڈی جی نے کہا۔

"نہیں سر۔"

"تکا لگانا چاہیں گے۔"

"نہیں سر۔" میں نے مسکراتے ہوئے جواب دیا۔

"نما ز کے فوائد بتائیں۔" ڈی جی نے کہا۔

"نماز انسان کی زندگی میں ترتیب پیدا کرتی ہے۔ انسان کے اندر یہ احساس پیدا ہوتا کہ وہ کسی کا بندہ جس کے آگے وہ جھک رہا ہے ، اور اس نے اسی کے بنائے اور بتائے ہوئے اصولوں کے مطابق اپنی زندگی ایمانداری اور سچائی سے گزارنی ہے۔"

Then the man sitting on the right of the DG started asking questions.

سوال: آپ نے اپنی کمزوریاں بتائی ہیں، اب اپنی مثبت باتیں بتائیں۔

جواب: میں اپنا کام ترتیب سے کرتا ہوں۔ سب کچھ لکھ لیتا ہوں، اس سے میرا کام بہت جلدی اور بہت اچھے طریقے سے ہو جاتا ہے۔ میں محنتی ہوں۔ بہت جلدی چیزیں سیکھ لیتا ہوں۔ اور میں اپنے بڑوں کی بہت زیادہ عزت کرتا ہوں۔
Q: How do you treat your parents?
A: I treat them with utmost respect and care, because they were the ones who made me what I am. I was able to study at Beaconhouse, which is one of the top institutes in the country and also at PU, just because of them.

سوال: آپ ان کی عزت کیسے کرتے ہیں؟

جواب: میں ہمیشہ ان کا حکم مانتا ہوں۔ ان کی کوئی بات رد نہیں کرتا۔

سوال: اگر وہ آپ کو ایسا کام کرنے کا کہیں جو اسلام کے منافی ہو ، تو؟

جواب: اس صورت میں میں ان کا حکم نہیں مانوں گا۔

سوال: وہ کیوں؟ یہ تو کوئی تابعداری نہ ہوئی۔

جواب: کیونکہ والدین کا حق اپنی جگہ لیکن اللہ کا حق ان سے زیادہ ہے اور اللہ کا ہی حکم ہے کہ والدین کی اطاعت تب تک کی جائے جب تک وہ شرک کرنے کا نہ کہیں۔

Q: Tell us something about your family.
A: I belong to a middle class family of Sheikhupura. My father is a reputed businessman of the city. One of my maternal uncles in the Chairperson of Dept of Statistics at Government College University Lahore and the other one is a specialist doctor.

Q: How old is your father?
A: He turned 55 on March 5.

Q: And is your mother a housewife?
A: Yes. She is.

Q: What about your siblings?
A: I have a younger brother and a sister.

Q: What’s your number among your siblings?
A: I am the eldest one.

Q: How do you treat them?
A: Well, the way I treat them is a mix of love and harshness. I, being the eldest one, am more experienced and the one who teaches them. So, at times I need to be a bit harsh with them, but that’s always because of love and care.

Q: Do they respect you?
A: Yes, they do.

Q: Did you ever punish them physically?
A: No. I never did so. I believe that what you can achieve through awareness and prevention can’t be achieved through corporal measures. And I would like to mention that the same policy of awareness and prevention adopted by NAB to tackle corruption has been very effective.

Q: You shifted from medical to commerce. Was it because you couldn’t get enough marks?
A: Yes, this was the ostensible reason. But in fact, the decision of getting admission in the Pre-Medical was a wrong one in the first place. I wasn’t that informed at that time, so it was more of a parents’ choice to go in the Pre-Medical.

Then the person sitting on the right of the DG asked me, “What is the hierarchy of NAB?”

“There is a Chairman who heads NAB. Then there is Prosecutor General Accountability, who holds an independent office on whole time basis. Then there is Deputy Chairman NAB, who is subordinate to the Chairman. Then there are different DGs for regional headquarters such as Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi. Lastly, there are DGs for different departments as well such as Headquarters, Training and HR.”

“Do you have relations with NAB officers?” He asked.
“No sir, I have been in contact randomly with a couple of officers, but I don’t have personal relations with any of the NAB officers.”

To this, the DG HR said, “Thank you.”

I said, “One last thing if you don’t mind.” He shook his head affirmatively.

I said, “I believe that I am the one for this job. Please treat me that way.”

“We treat everyone on merit. Don’t worry.” He said, while shaking his head affirmatively.

“Thank you very much, Sir.” I said and left the room.