Reforming the civil service      Author – Maleeha Lodhi

The article clearly shows how Pakistan’s bureaucratic machine has become bloated, outdated, and tangled in its own inefficiencies. Despite swelling numbers of federal and provincial employees, performance and public trust have both nosedived. What struck me the most was how politicisation, lack of merit, and piecemeal reforms have corroded this vital institution from the inside out. Instead of implementing bold, structural change, we’ve relied on cosmetic tweaks that barely scratch the surface. The proposals on the table, especially the creation of a National Executive Service and lateral entry from outside the bureaucracy, do offer a glimmer of hope but the devil as always, lies in the execution.

What really hit home for me was the urgency behind fixing the fundamentals recruitment, training, performance metrics, and weeding out dead weight. The article wisely calls out the glaring gap: no mention of downsizing, no integration of local or provincial governance where actual service delivery happens, and no real strategy to merge overlapping departments or eliminate redundant posts. Without trimming the fat and injecting fresh talent with technical expertise, any talk of reform is just lip service. It’s time we moved beyond hollow slogans and really put our money where our mouth is, otherwise we’ll just keep spinning the same broken wheel and the cost will be public trust, effective governance, and national progress.

Overview:

This article examines the longstanding inefficiencies and failures of Pakistan’s civil service structure. It critically analyzes the proposals presented by the Ahsan Iqbal-led committee to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, aimed at creating a “smart” civil service. It highlights issues like unchecked expansion, politicisation, lack of performance accountability, and the historical inertia that has stifled meaningful reform. Key recommendations such as lateral entry through the National Executive Service, merit-based recruitment, and institutional restructuring are discussed with caution, emphasizing that true reform requires more than symbolic change. It needs systemic overhaul and political will.

NOTES:

Pakistan’s civil service is burdened by inefficiency, overstaffing, and outdated practices, with around 2.9 million employees failing to deliver basic services effectively. Despite past reform attempts, real structural change has been missing, as reforms often ignore core issues like merit-based recruitment, meaningful downsizing or eliminating redundant departments. The article highlights the negative impact of politicisation and lack of accountability in the bureaucracy which has damaged public trust. The recent reform proposals such as creating a National Executive Service and allowing lateral entry from outside the system, aim to bring fresh talent and expertise into senior roles. However, the article cautions that unless performance metrics are enforced, unnecessary departments are merged, and training is upgraded to meet modern challenges, these reforms will remain cosmetic. The absence of a clear downsizing plan, lack of integration with provincial/local governance, and no cost-saving focus are major gaps. In short, without a shift toward performance-driven, depoliticised, and merit-based systems, the reform agenda will fail to address the root of Pakistan’s bureaucratic crisis.

CSS Syllabus Relevance:

• Pakistan Affairs: Bureaucratic history, administrative structure, post-independence state-building
• Governance & Public Administration: Reform proposals, lateral entry, performance-based systems
• Current Affairs: Institutional capacity, public service delivery, federal-province coordination
• Essay: Public sector reform, good governance, systemic inefficiencies

Notes for Beginners:

This article talks about how the civil service in Pakistan which is supposed to manage the country’s administration has become too big and too slow. For example, even though there are millions of government employees, people still struggle with basic services like health, education, and justice. One big reason is that jobs are often given based on politics instead of merit. The article suggests that Pakistan should bring in experts from outside to senior roles like hiring a tech expert to run IT policy instead of just a career bureaucrat. But this should be done carefully, with fairness, so no province is left out. It also says we need to remove useless posts, merge overlapping departments, and train people for today’s challenges like digital governance and fast decision-making.

Facts and Figures:

• Around 2.9 million civil servants exist at federal and provincial levels
• The reform committee met over 12 times and gave 50 recommendations
• No real downsizing or cost-cutting measures proposed
• Proposed creation of a National Executive Service for lateral hiring
• Past reforms in 1973 and 2000s were either ignored or failed

To sum up, The article calls for a bold shake-up of how we run the country. Reforming the civil service is a bureaucratic exercise as well as a national necessity. Without real change, we’ll keep burning public trust and taxpayer money in a machine that grinds but doesn’t produce. The time for patchwork fixes is over of what we need now is political courage, expert insight, and a plan that puts performance above politics. If we want to steer this ship right, we’ve got to stop patching holes and start rebuilding the hull.