civil service reforms in pakistan

1. Civil Service Reform.
BY Shaukat Hayat Durrani
Nov.2019

2. Sequence
• Role of civil servant
• Constitutional and legal framework.
• Civil service reforms-1973
• Need for civil service reforms.
• Current perception of civil service.
• Recommendations of national commission
for government reforms- 2008.
• Civil service reform-2019.
• Way forward.

3. Role of civil servants.
• Civil servants are servants of the state . The state means the government of the day. Civil servants must
serve the duly constituted government whatever political complexion.
• Obligated by law to implement the policies of the government.
• The civil service is set up to provide the government with advice on the formulation of the policies ,
implementation of the decisions and to manage and deliver services for which the government is
responsible .
• Civil servants are responsible to their ministers for their action and conduct .
• It is the duty of civil servants to serve their ministers with integrity and to the best of their ability .
• In their dealings with the public, civil servants should always bear in mind that people have a right to
expect that their affairs will be dealt with sympathetically, efficiently and promptly .
• Civil servants are under an obligation to keep the confidences to which they become privy in the course
of their work .

4. Civil Service .
• …..Civil service is the backbone of the state .Governments
are formed . Governments are defeated , Prime Ministers
come and go , Ministers come and go; but you stay on ,and
therefore ,there is a very great responsibility placed on your
shoulders….
• “We have met here today without any distinction of being big
or small, as servants of the state in order to think out ways
and means of advancing the interest s of the people and our
country. From the highest to the lowest ,we all are the
servants of the state .”
• ( Quaid- e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said in his
address to a gathering of civil officers of Baluchistan on
14th Feb.1948) .
• you do not belong to the ruling class, you belong to the
servants .make the people feel you are their servants and
friends, maintain the highest standard of honor, integrity,
justice and fair-play. ( Addressing gazetted officers
at Chittagong on 25thmarch,1948)

5. Civil Service
• Do your duty as servants to the people and
state, fearlessly and honestly. Service is the
backbone of the state. Governments are
formed, governments are defeated, prime
minister come and go, minister come and go
but you stay on and therefore ,there is a very
great responsibility placed on your shoulders
. You should have no hand in supporting this
political party or that political party, this is not
your business.
(in an informal talk to civil officers at
government house Peshawar on 14th April
1948)

6. Constitutional provision.
• Extracts from the constitution of the Islamic
republic of pakistan,1973 regarding terms and
conditions of service of the civil servants ;
• Article 27- Safeguard against discrimination in
service .
• Article 212- Administrative courts and tribunals.
• Article 240 – Appointments to service of Pakistan
and conditions of service.
• Article 241 – Existing rules , etc., to continue.
• Article 242- Public service commission .
• Article 268- Continuance in force, and adaptation
of, certain laws.

7. Civil Servants Act and
Rules,1973
• Civil servants Act ,1973- an act to regulate the
appointment of persons to, and the terms and
conditions of service of persons in , the service of
Pakistan .
• Civil servants (appointment, promotion and
transfer) Rules ,1973 notified under section 25 of
the Act.
• Definition - “Civil servant” means a person who
is a member of an All-Pakistan service or of a civil
service of the federation ,or who holds a civil post
in connection with the affairs of the federation
,including any post connected with defense ,but
does not include -------------

8. Civil service reforms -1973
• The civil service reforms of 1973 abolished the elite cadre
CSP, which dominated civil service positions at federal,
provincial and district level.
• The services distinctions were ended and all civil service
cadres were named occupational groups .
• The rank hierarchy was replaced by a system of Basic Pay
Scales
( BPS) which further included , workers performing tasks
under BPS-1-4, various categories of clerical personnel under
BPS , 5-15, superintendents under BPS,16 and officers under
BPS 17-22.
• A new system of common training program ( CTP ) was
introduced and all the occupational groups were required to
go through a Combined training at civil services academy
(CSA) Lahore.
• With the completion of common training program, the
probationers undergo the specialized training program, in the
respective professional academies.

9. Occupational groups
• Since the number of direct officers at entry level are few, their quota are
fixed on the higher side ,therefore there promotion are fast tracked. These
arrangements make the civil service attractive for talented individuals and
instill sense of superiority and pride , currently ,CSS conducts exams for the
following occupational groups;
1- Pakistan customs service (PCS)
2-Pakistan administrative service (PAS )
3- Police service of Pakistan (PSP )
4- Foreign service of Pakistan( FSP )
5-Inland revenue service of Pakistan ( IRS )
6- Commerce and trade group ( CTG)
7- Information services of Pakistan (ISP )
8- Military lands & cantonment group ( MLCG )
9- Office management and secretariat group (OMG )
10- Pakistan audit and accounts service (PA&AS)
11- Postal group (PG)
12- Railways ( commercial & transport ) group (RCTG )

10. Need for civil service reform
• There is a widespread perception that the civil service has been unable to
cope with its increased responsibilities as the role of the state in Pakistan
has expanded and changed over time .
• The civil service is viewed as ill-equipped to assume new and more
complex roles in this changing world.
• According to world bank report - A framework for civil service reform in
Pakistan( 1998). The following problems and shortcomings were identified .
• An over –centralized organizational structure ,as well as rigid ,often
irrelevant and unevenly enforced rules and management .
• An in- appropriate skills eroded internal accountability and lack of
accountability to the public .
• Politicization of civil service decision making
• Tension between different, compartmentalized civil service cadres .
• Widespread corruption .
• Increasing public sector wage costs which are crowding out high –priority
non-wage expenditures.

11. Need for civil service reform-2
• Civil service reforms are needed in response to forces of
globalization and technological change. The need to cope with the
rapid globalization and to maintain international competitiveness
which is a very strong incentives for public sector institutional
reform.
• The role of the civil service in economic development , governance
,and public service is vital irrespective of the institutional and
structural system of a country.
• In 1989,the organization of economic cooperation and development
( OECD) passed a resolution that linked ‘’public sector
performance and the overall performance of the national
economy’’ and recommended that ‘’structural adjustment
,therefore , include reform of the public management system
among their targets. ‘’

12. Need for civil service reform-3
• The economic imperative for reform is one that has
led to changes based on incentives , performance
,and efficiency in civil service structures in developed
countries including Australia ,united states and others .
• The other reform imperative is political. Link
between civil service structure and governance is well
established .The civil service is part of the state and its
political institutions.
• The relational ship between the civil service structure
and the political system is bidirectional- civil service is
influenced by the political system and it also helps to
shape the political system.

13. Need for civil service reform-4
• Politics has a major role in shaping the character and structure of the civil service
in Pakistan .
• Military regime of Ayub khan in the sixties ,
• Political activism of Bhutto era in the seventies ,
• Islamization and non- party based mantra of Gen. Zia regime govt. in the eighties.
• Adversarial politics of Benazir and Sharif governments in the nineties.
• Devolution and economic revival efforts of the Mushraf’s regime in the early part of 21st
century. This eight year military rule left behind a demoralized and inefficient bureaucracy
that was used to ensure regime survival. The regime poorly conceived devolution of power
led to further administrative confusion and the breakdown of service delivery at the district
level.
• Zardari / PPP govt. from 2008 -2013
• Sharif/ PML govt. from 2013 - 2018
• Imran khan/ PTI govt. from 2108 / onwards is carrying the perception of weak democracy
as ignoring the parliament and use of ordinances and relying more on executive decisions.
• The above political changes have influenced the thinking ,performance ,and
character of the civil superior services.

14. Need for civil service reform-5
• Each new political or military regime finds it convenient
blaming and then reforming the civil services of
Pakistan without reforming themselves (the political
culture).
• Civil service as implementers of the state policies
acts as an intermediary between the government and
the public .
• The demand for civil service reform arises out of the
frustration of the citizens with the failure of the
governments to set the economy right and deliver
social services.
• Deeds of mismanagement, political manipulation and
corruption have rendered Pakistan's civil service
incapable of providing effective governance and basic
public services .

15. Conclusion
• There is a consensus both among the civil
servants and those interacting with them
that the present system has become
dysfunctional.
• Reform in the civil service is the need of
hour and better performance indicators
can be achieved through professional
human resource and incentives & rewards
.

16. Recommendation of national
commission for government
reforms-2008
• Open ,transparent merit-based recruitment at all levels and
grades of public service while protecting regional representation as
laid down in the constitution.
• Performance evaluation to be based on measurable
objectives,and assessment of key performance indicators.
• Promotions and career development progression to be based
upon a combination of past performance and assessment of
potential with mandatory training at post -induction , mid -career and
senior management levels .
• Equality of opportunity for career advancement to all employees
without preferences or reservation for any particular class. A shift
should take place in the mind set from entitlement to eligibility .
• Replacement of the concept of superior services by equality
among all cadres and non –cadres of public servants, federal and
provincial civil services, professional and generalists. Suitability for
the job should be the governing principle rather than the orientation
of the appointment.

17. Recommendation of national
commission for government
reforms-2008
• Grant of a living wage and compensation package
including decent retirement benefits to all civil servants.
• Strict observance of security of tenure of office for a
specified period .
• Separate cadre of regular civil service at the federal ,
provincial and district levels co-existing with contractual
appointments and lateral movement.
• Creation of a National Executive Service (NES) for senior
management position open to all federal , provincial and
district civil servants through a competitive process.
• Induction of three specialized cadres under the NES for
economic management , social sector management ,
general .
• Citizens survey and score cards to judge the
responsiveness .

18. Civil service reforms -2019
• Revamping recruitment ,training and promotion criteria of civil
servants. In the existing system of training, out of 29,000 officers serving in
the federal government only 6000 are covered.
• There was no specific arrangement of separate mandatory trainings for
specialists – both ex-cadre and non-cadre – either at post induction or any
stage in order to cater to their needs and maximize their efficiency and
performance .
• Hence , their professional expertise got outdated and they were transformed
to paper pusher bureaucrats.
• Further, there was a requirement to bring improvement in the existing
training regimes ,including infrastructure improvements and structural
changes.
• Training system should be more responsive to the requirements of policy
formulation . Training is an important tool skill development and enhancing
capacities of civil servants .
• Keeping in view the importance of training ,weight- age to mandatory
training has been increased to 35 % from 15 % out of 100% for the
promotion to the next higher grade .

19. civil service reforms-2019
• Post – induction training for three-six months to federal government
in the areas of government organization structure ,procedures , rules
,regulations and soft skills such as team building , interpersonal and
communication skills would be imparted to those entering the federal
government in ex- or non-cadre positions .
• The training would be organized National School of Public Policy (
NSPP) which would be an apex body for standards settings ,monitoring
and quality assistance . Selection of participants ,design ,content and
delivery of course would be decentralized to training institution.
• To attract higher caliber officers of integrity , behavior and competence ,the
selection method of faculty ,directing staff and the incentive structure of
proposed specialized training institutes shall be brought at par with that of
the NSPP.
• All training institutes shall be made autonomous with their own boards of
governors drawn from academia ,practitioners, retired civil servants etc.
• linkages with leading universities and research organizations shall be
established.

20. Civil Service Reform-2019
• Creation of a National Executive Service . It
would allow civil servants in BPS-19 and
experienced professionals from outside the civil
service to be inducted into the bureaucracy. The
purpose of the NES would be to ensure that top
positions are not monopolized by generalists and
that there is a room for lateral entry of technocrats
in various bureaucratic cadres. The selection
would involve eligible candidates sitting for an
exam. However there would be resistance to
setting up the NES as it will disturb the career
paths of current bureaucrats.

21. Civil service reform-2019
• To improve overall induction process to attract the
right skill set and talent . The key tool for doing this
would be to restructure both the induction and training
mechanisms. The suggested course of action is that
entry exams be designed to test analytical ability
,domain –specific knowledge and aptitude of
candidates.
• To ensure that the existing bureaucracy remains
motivated and that political interference and
politicization in minimized would require changes in
internal processes , decentralization of decision –
making and removal of discrepancies within
different service groups .

22. Bureaucratic decision-making and
multiple accountability
• The study ,titled bureaucratic decision –making amid multiple
accountability ,has been done by shahid Raheem sheikh and
Saifullah Khalid ,for the national institute of public policy,
(NIPP policy paper) of national school of public policy.
• The study is based on 610 full responses, from 721 civil
servants in BPS17-22. Out of the 581240, civil servants on
federal governments posts 95.02 percent are in BPS 1-16 and
only 4.98 percent in BPS 17-22 holding positions at crucial
decision making levels.
• Of the total , 49.1 percent are in BPS 17-18 and 49.3 percent
in BPS 19-20 . While 13 .5 percent of them have service
experience of between 3 and 5 years and 21.9 percent of 13-
17 years . A much higher proportion 61.5 pc have been in
service for more than 17 years .

23. Public perception of civil
servants
• About the public perception of their
indecisiveness , a majority of the civil servants
say that although they are working hard and are
competent enough to solve complex problems;
• (a) the bureaucracy is not taking decision.
• (b) the bureaucracy is avoiding responsibility.
• (c) the bureaucracy is not accessible to the public.
• (d) the bureaucracy lacks a problem –solving
approach.
• (e) the bureaucracy gives preference to personal
interests instead of to public interests .

24. Role of NAB
• As regards the role of NAB ,a majority of the civil
servants agree that;
• (a) NAB is not independent of external influence.
• (b) NAB officers lack strong professional experience or
technical skill.
• (c) There is lack of clear boundaries between different
accountability organizations.
• (d) Governments have used NAB as a weapon against
civil servants considered close to political civil
servants.
• (e) Accountability procedures are generally insulting
and humiliating.
• (f) NAB arranges media leaks against civil servants.

25. Role of judiciary
• As regards perceptions about the role of the judiciary
and public interest litigation, the majority of civil
servants say;
• (a) the purpose of judicial review is to safeguard public
interests.
• (b) the intervention of the judiciary in administrative
matters is not judicious.
• (c) frequent use of suo motu powers does not improve
administrative is not judicious.
• (d) public servants are delaying decisions because of
fear of judicial accountability.
• (e) the superior judiciary humiliates the bureaucracy
during court appearances.

26. Role of media
• The majority of civil servants are of the
view;
• (a) the mainstream media does not
accurately report administrative decisions.
• (b) the media does not avoid
sensationalism.
• (c) the media reporters are generally not
well –educated about administrative
processes.

27. Impact of political influence
• As regards the impact of political
influence,the majority of civil servants are
of the view;
• (a) That a political- civil servants nexus
exists.
• (b) This nexus causes stagnation in
development work.
• (c) This nexus leads to financial corruption
.

28. Remedies suggested
• The challenges to decision- making must be honestly accepted ,
• A sustained and mutually respectful dialogue between the bureaucratic
leadership and NAB is necessary to address adversarial perceptions.
• Judicial oversight is necessary but personal humiliation of civil servants is
neither necessary nor helpful in improving the decision –making climate.
• Formal guidelines should be available to the bureaucratic leadership to
allow for mitigation of media misrepresentation of subordinate officials.
• Efforts to shield bureaucratic decision –making from the undue influence of
political bosses should continue .
• Further efforts are necessary to probe the reasons for stagnated decision –
making.
• The need for strict enforcement of internal conduct and disciplinary
mechanisms.
• The study makes a strong case for removal of the bureaucracy's fears as
an administrative paralysis is only one step short of disorder .
• Regardless of citizens grievances about the bureaucracy ‘s insensitivity
to public interest ,the country cannot do without an efficient bureaucracy
and guarantees of protection for honest for honest officers, especially those
who give correct advice to their political bosses.

29. Recommendations.
• Creation of Reforms & regulation Division on permanent basis with the
mandate given to current reform unit headed by Dr. Ishrat Hussain. The
mandate shall also include review and updating of all administrative laws,
rules and regulations and monitor implementation on regular basis.
• This should be done with right-sizing the business of establishment and
cabinet divisions .
• The constitution of Pakistan is the basic law of the land and under all
relevant articles ,there is need to develop subordinate legislation . For
example under article 242, subordinate legislation of federal public service
commission for the federal government and provinces have been made but
under Article 160, no subordinate legislation has been made and every year
president constitute a commission for a period of 5 years . A permanent
finance commission is the need of the hour to review the national resources
and develop criterion for distribution.
• The division shall be responsible to conduct regular research studies about
the conduct of civil services for the purpose of any further reform at district
,provincial and federal level.
• Adaptation of incremental approach for reforming the civil service .

30. Recommendations-2
• Creation of highly specialized cadre of civil servants by
offering them PhD program in subjects of vital importance
for economic development of country ,like economic , finance
, international law ,industrial development ,agriculture ,
taxation, population and other need based social sector
areas.
• Selection to be made through public service commission-
merit based system.
• All occupational groups eligible to compete for award of in-
service PhD program . Qualifying service may be fixed at
least 5 years .10 years or 15 years.
• On successful completion of PhD, all such officers shall be
inducted in the National executive Service ( to be constituted
).

31. Recommendations-3
• Creation of enactment for running the business of federal government by the
parliament. In pursuance of Article 240, Civil Servants Act 1973 has been promulgated
and rules-1973 notified under the Act.
• But for running of the business of federal government , there is no enacted law rather
rules of business have been made under article 90 ( the federal government ) & 99 (
conduct of business of federal government ) which every new governments frequently keep
on changing without any research and in-depth analysis.
• The article 98 says regarding conferring of functions on subordinate authorities that on the
recommendation of the federal government , parliament may by law confer functions upon
officers or authorities subordinate to the federal government .
• While in article 99(2) it has been stated that the federal government shall by rules specify
the manner in which orders and other instruments made and executed in the name of the
president shall be authenticated, and the validity of any order or instrument so
authenticated shall not be questioned in any court on the ground that it was not made or
executed by the president. Why not to the rules of business may be enacted through an
Act of the parliament.
• Article 99 ( 3 ) says that the federal government shall also make rules for allocation and
transaction of its business. In this article the word rule may be changed to law. In this way
,the rules of business will come under review of parliament and will give stability to the
bureaucracy.
• It is interesting to note that under the rules of business, again Pakistan( have
issued instructions for disposal of business in the federal secretariat naming them
secretariat instructions.

32. • It is quite oblivious that purpose of
inserting the word ‘rule’ is avoid
meaningful engagement of the opposition
with the parliament. Which is completely
authoritarian approach to govern the
federation, and is against the spirit of our
federal ,democratic constitution.

33. Recommendations-4
• Adaptation of code of honor for civil
service at all levels ( civil servants
code). The code of honor should be
indoctrinated among civil service at their
training institution and candidates be
examined through a written paper. (a
syllabus to be developed).

34. civil service reform- references
.
• References – Pakistan Bureaucracy; crisis of
governance by Saeed Shafqat
• How to reform the civil service in Pakistan by
Dr. Ishrat Hussain.
• Public policy, Training , and civil service
reform by Anjum khurshid.
• Governance reform in Pakistan by Dr. Ishrat
Hussain.
• Pakistan- A frame work for civil service
reform in Pakistan. ( report of world Bank,
No.18386-pak)

35. Civil service reform.
Thank you

36. History of civil service reform
• Administrative or civil service reform is an old concept in the
history of Pakistan .
• Several efforts were conducted to reform and organize the
administrative structure in Pakistan.
• 1- the first Pakistan pay and service commission in 1948.
• 2- study was by Rowland in 1953 .
• 3- was by Bernard Gladieus in 1955.
• 4- pay and services commission report by A.R. CORNELIUS (
1959)
• 5-Administrative reorganization of Pakistan by G.Ahmad (
1962).
• 6- Administrative reform commission report by K.H.Meer
(1973),
• 7- The civil services commission report by Anwar-ul-Haq (
1973 )

37. Reforms implemented till 1971
• introduction of section officers scheme .
• Delegation of administrative powers to
attached departments and the secretariat
entrusted with policy making .
• creation of economic pool for economic
ministries .
• Reorganization of planning machinery.
• Introduction of local govt. system- basic
democracies

38. Administrative reforms-1973
• Z.A. Bhutto introduced administrative reforms of 1973 to curb power and autonomy of the
civil bureaucracy ( 1300 civil servants were dismissed) .
• Constitutional protection of employment was removed .
• Abolishment of elite cadre of the CSP and creation of occupational groups .
• 22 national pay grades( BPS ) were introduced.
• The All –Pakistan services comprising DMG , TAG, the police group and secretariat group
was created and induction of all officers of the federal services was made after certain level
of seniority .
• The All Pakistan services were renamed the All-pakistan unified group while other federal
services ,previously known as central services were designated the federal unified group .
• 5000 officialls of various ranks and grades were directly recruited into the civil bureaucracy
.
• Common training programme ( CTP) was I introduced .
• Ziaul haq ordered the induction of military officers in the civil bureaucracy on quota basis .
• Musharraf introduced local government ordinances of 2001 and police ordinance,2002
which were the most sweeping reforms introduced in Pakistan since 1973. posts of
commissioner, deputy commissioner, were abolished and their powers were transferred to
elected Nazims . Police officers were also held accountable to district mayors.
• The nomenclature of DMG was changed to PAS in PPP govt.( 2008 – 13 )
•

39. Administrative reforms-1973 and
onwards
• National economic council ,national finance commission ,election
commission and federal and provincial public service commission.
• Creation of in-service training institutions for public servants ,civil services
academy , administrative staff college , national institute of public
administration and Pakistan academy for rural development .
• Constitutional guarantee on the security of service removed .
• Unification of all the services structure i.e., non-gazetted,class-11, class-
1,and superior services and abolition of the civil services of Pakistan (
CSP ).
• the former central superior services were divided in All Pakistan unified
group , Federal unified group , Provincial unified group .
• Merger of all services into a single unified grading structure and all
servants categorized into 22 grades under the national pay scale .
• Horizontal movement allowed from one cadre to another and the scope of
out of turn promotions introduced.
• Lateral entry system through which individuals from the private sector
could be inducted at higher grades into the government.
• The federal and provincial secretaries and additional secretaries could be
retired from the service without assigning any reason.

40. Administrative reforms 1973 and
onwards
• It can be argued that the administrative reforms of
1973 initiated a trend in civil service reform policy
that aimed at diminishing the elite nature of the
CSP by lowering standards and subverting
meritocracy .
• Unfortunately ,that trend has continued ever since.
• Pakistan has a well-developed and unique system
of civil service it still has the capacity and
institutional presence to become partner in
economic development and good governance in
this country .
• As an elite service it needs to earn that status
through superior training and better performance .

41. Current status of civil service
• Over the past 6 decades ,the so called steel frame
of civil service inherited from colonial India has
become decidedly rusty. The ineffectiveness of
state institutions due to the diminishing capacity.
Seriously undermining Pakistan's economic ,social
and political development . In addition, the failure
of Pakistan's state institutions to protect the
welfare of its citizens provide adequate social
services and promote the rule of law are eroding
the legitimacy and stability of the state.
(The Politics of civil service reform in Pakistan by
Andrew wilder )