The Civil Services of Pakistan, governed by the Civil Servants Act 1973 and the Efficiency and Discipline (E&D) Rules, form the backbone of the country’s administrative machinery. For decades, this system has remained the central apparatus for implementing government policies, delivering public services, and maintaining institutional continuity. However, over time, the service has come under increasing strain due to a lack of systemic reforms, persistent political interference, and misaligned incentives – leaving civil servants vulnerable within a structure not of their own making.
The CSS-25 Written Result has just been announced and people from various walks of life will again start questioning the 2.77% passing rate. Some will criticise the paper marking as some foreign graduates from top universities of the world didn’t make it but still appeared in it to test their luck. While the other half of the qualifiers will suddenly become wizards and experts in different subjects. The remaining people who have witnessed the worst planning and public service delivery in these late monsoon rains will start pinpointing various reforms to transform bureaucracy or to make it work like some sort of ideal private entity.
A reformed civil service is not an end, but a means to empower the people and propel the nation forward.
Recent reform efforts, spearheaded under the 2021 Civil Services Reforms, offer a renewed hope for transformation. These reforms are rooted in a vision that seeks to align performance with merit, modernise training, streamline promotions, and ensure accountability through improved evaluation systems. Importantly, the reforms do not aim to undermine the civil service but to empower it against external pressures and internal inertia.
Among the most notable reforms is the revised PER (Performance Evaluation Report) mechanism, where only 20% of officers can now be rated as “outstanding,” in line with international best practices. The move aims to curb inflation of performance ratings and reward genuine excellence. Moreover, the introduction of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked to institutional goals helps create objective criteria to assess officers’ effectiveness – shifting the focus from loyalty to performance.
Another transformative aspect is the introduction of the Cluster-Based System, which groups officers into specialised domains such as commerce, economy, foreign affairs, and governance. This system allows officers to build expertise in specific sectors, resulting in better decision-making, continuity of policy, and long-term institutional memory – a significant departure from the traditional generalist model. It also enhances the role of training institutions like the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) by introducing domain-specific courses and simulations aimed at producing strategic, rather than reactive, governance.
The reforms are also backed by the creation of Central Selection Boards (CSB) with greater transparency and digitisation, moving away from opaque methods of promotions. Improved use of information technology in record-keeping and transfers promises to reduce the discretion that often results in politicisation.
Despite these promising changes, civil servants continue to find themselves on the frontlines of political pressure, especially in provinces where transfers, postings, and inquiries are often used to influence administrative decisions. Reforms such as these offer a pathway to insulate the bureaucracy from undue political interference. By institutionalising merit-based appointments and promoting specialisation, the system can finally allow civil servants to perform their duties without fear or favour.
In this context, Pakistan’s civil servants are not the hurdle but rather the most crucial stakeholders in the reform process. Empowering them through structural changes, training, and a fair evaluation system can create a more responsive, transparent, and accountable governance model. The reforms, if implemented in full spirit, can bring the bureaucracy out of the shadows of politicisation and into the era of professional excellence – where loyalty to the constitution, not personalities, is the guiding principle. This will also give them more credibility under all government structures.
The problem with bureaucracy is that it is a lone warrior in a cruel system which is designed to favour policies made by the status quo. In 2021, when unarmed government servants were protesting outside the secretariat for wage increments, expired shells were thrown at them to show how helpless and powerless they were. They were not even given such importance that at least non-expired shells were hurled at them. They are still the punching bag but in an innovative way. Nowadays, as soon as any bureaucrat starts following rules and guidelines under the true Weberian model, either they are penalised or a stream of unnecessary criticism is directed towards them from different sources to portray them as people enjoying elite privileges coming from weak backgrounds. Masses are made to believe that somehow people who are selected on merit, and working under low wages and tough working conditions are receiving huge sums of perks and benefits by those who feel the pain of the masses so much that instead of waiving off their salaries in these difficult economic times owing to have been coming from elite backgrounds, unanimously decided to increase their salaries by manifolds in one year while only increasing meager 10% salary of these powerful bureaucrats who are protesting for increase even when the prevailing interest rates in the country are more than 10%. Whereas, when they accept the status quo of the elite, CSPs are held in high status, given lucrative positions and portfolios and positive reviews of their intellect, performance follow. Depoliticisation is the key towards enhancing the credibility of bureaucracy.
As Pakistan continues to face complex economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges, an empowered and depoliticised civil service may well be the key to steering the nation toward stability and prosperity.
