Mahrukh Chohan, a 23-year-old from Bahawalpur, has made history and her country proud as she became the youngest Central Superior Services (CSS) officer to pass the exam and allotted in the Pakistan Customs Service Group. Chohan is the daughter of Major (Retd.) Muhammad Akhtar Abid Chohan of Kharian Tehsil in Gujrat, Punjab.
Mahrukh attended institutes in various cantonments and had to change schools frequently due to her father’s postings. Despite this, she persisted on her path to success. She earned the 73rd spot in the CSS examination 202. She was assigned to the CSS (50 Common) Pakistan Customs Service Group. With this accomplishment, she became not only the youngest officer to enter the Customs service this year, but also the youngest officer in Pakistan Customs history.
Furthermore, she did BS in Accounting and Finance from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. Mahrukh’s success credit only goes to her as she did not join any academy but rather passed the exam with her self-study techniques. Chohan also disclosed that her last semester could not be finished on time because of the pandemic.
She disclosed that due to the pandemic her university was shut down, and the university later took the online exam. She graduated in June 2020 and passed the CSS exam in February 2021. Mahrukh revealed that the disease outbreak shutdowns had helped her prepare for the CSS exam. Chohan also stated that taking a CSS examination is more of a test of nerves than of knowledge or skills.
Additionally, her optional subjects in the CSS exam include Accountancy and Auditing, Business Administration, History of Pakistan and India, Gender Studies, and Sociology. Her scores in optional subjects are good as she got 146/200 marks in Accountancy and Auditing papers A and B. In Business Administration and Gender Studies, she secured 77 and 71, respectively. Mahrukh passed English Essay and English Precis and Composition with 44 and 40 marks, respectively.