News reports regarding a suggestion for M.Phil to be a minimum criteria for Central Superior Services (CSS) and Public Services Commission (PCS) have been confirmed to be fake.

Minister for Planning Development and Reforms of Pakistan (MPDR), Ahsan Iqbal, has denied it and said that many media outlets are falsely reporting the Ministry by saying that M.Phil is going to be set as the minimum criteria.

In a tweet, Ahsan Iqbal put the false reports and rumors to rest. He said:

I want to clarify that there is no suggestion under consideration to make M. Phil minimum criteria for CSS, PCS Exams. — Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) September 10, 2015

The news reports started going around on the 8th of September. The source of the rumors seems to be Javedch.com as it was the first detailed report that surfaced on the media outlets. The report was translated by The News Tribe and ARYNewsLive. Pakistan Career Council even claimed to have talked with the Ministry officials and confirmed the news.

The reports also claimed that the minimum age was going to be raised to 30 years while the retirement age was going to remain the same at 60 years. That part of the news is still to be clarified by the ministry officials.