A mock interview of Pakistan’s military exam for selection of officers went viral on social media after the interviewer asked a candidate a question that mentioned the name of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif.
Sarmad Muhammad Khan, a former Pakistani army officer who runs the World Times Forces Academy, asked candidate Ali Abbas, “Who is your favourite actress?” The candidate said Durr-e-Fishan Saleem, a Pakistani actress, after which he was asked why he liked her.
A few minutes later, Mr Khan asked Mr Abbas, “Who is your favourite actress in Bollywood?” The candidate said, “Sir, Katrina Kaif.”
Mr Khan told the candidate a situation in which “India is planning an attack on Pakistan, and Katrina Kaif has information on how we (Pakistan) can stop them. She has asked you to establish some kind of relationship with her to get the information… will you do it?” The candidate said, “Sir, obviously for the security of the country, I have to do it.”
Pakistan Civil Service Mock Interview? pic.twitter.com/HxWdYp032W
— johny (@JohnyBravo183) August 31, 2024
The interviewer told the candidate, “The situation is the same but you are in Afghanistan and a person named Gul Khan has asked you to do the same to get information, will you do it now?” The candidate asked, “What kind of relationship?” Mr Khan reprimanded the candidate and said, “Is this your character?” Mr Khan then gave feedback to Mr Abbas, pointing out the flaws in his answers.
The interviewer asked a follow-up question at the end of the interview. Both clips have now been combined into the viral video.
Many users of X and Instagram have reacted to the video, and mocked Mr Khan’s questions. Some users from Pakistan recalled their experience of giving the ISSB interview and pointed out that it “feels relevant to them”.
Inter-Services Selection Board (ISSB) is a personality assessment test for selection of commissioned officers in Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force, similar to the process in India where candidates aspiring to join the army as officers have to undergo Services Selection Board (SSB) interviews before joining the military training academy.
The video has been viewed over 89,000 times on YouTube and the ‘World Times CSS Video’ channel has over 3.3 lakh subscribers. Candidate Ali Abbas was giving a mock interview for the 119th Long Course of the Pakistan Military Academy.
