Spy games: ISI men caught cheating in Pakistan exam

Spies resorting to underhand tactics is nothing new but sneaking in smartphones to cheat in an exam is pushing it a bit too far.

Fifty Inter-Services Intelligence, better known as ISI, and intelligence bureau officials were among 500 candidates caught browsing internet on their phones to answer a recruitment exam for Pakistan’s premier counter-terrorism agency, a report said on Wednesday. The National Counter Terrorism Authority, which the Sharif government is counting on for a decisive war against terrorism, opened 130 vacant positions — 34 for officers — offering hefty packages and perks. The last week’s exam, the News International said, was “marred by so many blatant frauds that it has turned into a farce”. Question papers were not only distributed one-and-a-half hours after the start time but were also not enough. Many examinees had to wait longer, for the photocopies of the question paper. While most of the questions were multiple-choice, there were a few that required the aspirants to write a couple of paragraphs on ways to eradicate terrorism. “As the exam started, there were around 10 invigilators for 5,000 candidates, hundreds of them busy cheating since they were allowed to bring mobile phones,” the report said. Intelligence agency officials turned out to be the trouble-makers as they started arguing with the invigilators when efforts were made to take away their phones. Candidates found cheating had been disqualified, the exam coordinator said.