Meet Anjum Bashir: Kashmir civil service exam topper
Anjum Bashir Khan Khattak, a 27-year-old math government school teacher, has topped the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) exam. A native of the conflict-torn state's Surankote, he cleared the Kashmir Administrative Service exams in his first attempt open merit list. The ranking means a lot to Khattak, who got to experience the horrors of insurgency early-on in life. Read for more.
Khattak's ancestral house was torched by terrorists in 1998
Living in war-torn Kashmir is far from easy. Much like countless other Kashmiris, Khattak has his own story of terror. His ancestral house in Mohra Bachai was torched by terrorists in 1998, when Surankote was at the heart of an inhuman conflict. But that couldn't stop Khattak from harboring aspirations. He wanted to be a JKPSC officer ever since he was in Class 8.
Khattak scored 1514.33 marks
A former engineering student of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, Khattak never attended any coaching centre to prepare for the JKPSC exam. He chose public administration for prelims and took anthropology and public administration in the mains. He topped the exam with 1514.33 marks. He urges aspiring students to focus on presentation, be consistent, study varied issues but not after 11pm.
Having seen unending turmoil, Khattak wants to live with parents
Khattak credits his parents for his success. He didn't take the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams because he is an only child and wants to live with his parents. JKPSC gave him just the right opportunity to serve his people with his family by his side. Khattak's father Mohammed Bashir Khan is a retired lecturer and his mother Ghulam Fatima, a government teacher.
175 candidates were shortlisted for JKPSC mains
JKPSC exam results were announced on December 18. Following Khattak, Aliya Tabassum from Kishtwar stood second. 12,145 candidates had reportedly appeared for JKPSC's preliminary examination, which was held on August 30, 2015. 175 candidates were shortlisted for the mains, conducted from February 11 to February 27, 2017. Finally, 51 made it to the selection list.
