A mock interview of Pakistan’s military exam for the selection of officers went viral on social media after the interviewer asked a candidate a question which featured Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif.
Sarmad Muhammad Khan, a former Pakistan Army officer who runs the ‘World Times Forces Academy’, asked the candidate, Ali Abbas, “Who is your favourite actress?” The candidate said Dur-e-Fishan Saleem, a Pakistani actress, followed by further questions on why he likes 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 gave the candidate a situation where “India is planning an attack on Pakistan, and Katrina Kaif has the information on how we (Pakistan) can stop them. She asked you to make some sort of relationship with her to get the information…Will you do it?” The candidate said, “Sir, obviously for the country’s protection, I have to do it.”
Pakistan civil service mock interview 😭 pic.twitter.com/HxWdYp032W
— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) August 31, 2024
To his counter, the interviewer told the candidate “The situation is similar, but you are in Afghanistan and a person named Gul Khan asked you to do the same to get the information, will you do you now?” The candidate asked, “What kind of relationship?” Mr Khan admonished the candidate and said, “Is this your character?” Mr Khan then gave feedback the Mr Abbas, explaining the flaws in his responses.
The interviewer asked the follow-up question at the end of the interview. The two clips have been combined in the now-viral video.
Several users of X and Instagram have reacted to the video, mocking Mr Khan’s line of questioning. Some users from Pakistan recalled their experience of giving the ISSB interview and shared how it “feels relatable to them”.
The Inter-Services Selection Board (ISSB) is a personality assessment exam for the selection of commissioned officers into the Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force, similar to the procedure in India, where candidates who want to join the forces as officers undergo the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview before joining the military training academy.
The video has over 89,000 views on YouTube, and the channel ‘World Times CSS Videos’ has over 3.3 lakh subscribers. The candidate, Ali Abbas, was giving a mock interview for the Pakistan Military Academy’s 119 Long Course.
