EDITORIAL: It’s not often a prime minister calls out the civil service in such stark terms. But when he does — and rightly so — he must mean business. For far too long, Pakistan’s bureaucracy has remained the very definition of inefficiency: a bloated, self-preserving, procedure-obsessed relic of colonial control that has long outlived its usefulness.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is not wrong to describe the existing bureaucratic system as an impediment to economic progress and sustained prosperity. Nor is he wrong to suggest that unless it is completely overhauled, the promise of modern governance will continue to elude us. What remains to be seen is whether this government has the will and capability to do what all others have failed at — reform the beast from within.
Because let’s be clear: every administration in recent memory has pledged to reform the bureaucracy. And every single time, the reforms have failed — not because of public opposition or political sabotage, but because of the bureaucracy itself. The civil service in this country functions like an entrenched cartel. It guards its privileges, protects its power, and repels any intrusion that threatens its internal hierarchy. Ministers may come and go, but the bureaucratic machinery ensures that nothing ever really changes. It is an ancient dinosaur that devours state resources, paralyses institutions, and clogs the system with needless delays and red tape.
The reforms currently being piloted by the Power Division are a rare glimmer of hope. Separating policy and oversight from implementation and execution, and handing technical responsibilities to subject specialists, is precisely the kind of approach that’s needed across all ministries. That it has already saved the government billions in financial losses, and executed more than a hundred strategic directives, proves the point.
And yet, one can’t help but be cautious. The civil service, as history shows, doesn’t take kindly to being sidelined or restructured. The last time someone tried to introduce lateral hiring or technical appointments, the internal backlash was swift and deliberate. Files disappeared, delays mounted, and ministers found themselves stonewalled by the very departments they were supposed to lead. The bureaucratic playbook for resisting reform is well known — and it has worked every time.
That’s why the prime minister’s hard words must now be backed with even harder action. Announcing committees and issuing directives is not enough. The government will have to fight for reform tooth and nail. It will have to challenge the civil service’s unwritten code of immunity and impunity. It will have to embrace digital tools that cut out discretionary power. And it will have to bring in external expertise not as a cosmetic gesture, but as a serious restructuring tool.
There is no other way to align this outdated system with the demands of a fast-changing world. We are not talking about minor tweaks to an otherwise functional machine. We are talking about the complete redesign of a system that continues to reward mediocrity, stifle innovation, and punish initiative.
The prime minister is right to look to the diaspora for help. He is right to insist on modern systems and digital governance. But none of that will work until the state confronts the gatekeepers of decay — those who see reform as a threat to their power and resist it at every step.
This editorial space has little faith in committee reports or reform blueprints unless they are followed by concrete action that forces entrenched bureaucrats to either adapt or exit. Pakistan cannot afford another cycle of promises and paralysis.
For once, let’s hope a prime minister’s frustration leads to something more than just headlines.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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