CIVIL SERVICES REFORMS: A ROAD TO COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL SECURITY OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Civil service is the driver of state machinery and its efficiency determines state’s effectiveness in performing its core functions. Pakistan inherited 95 civil servants and around 300 class-1 officers at the time of independence. This core group had to meet the challenges with meager resources. The civil service not only managed to restore order, taxation and communication but it went on devising a long-term development plan. In 1960s, this group was declared ‘agents of change’ and ‘engine of growth and development’. Yet with the passage of time, degeneration crept in; turning the glorious past into a dream. Over the years, multiple commissions have been constituted for civil service reforms; however, these efforts have not been able to effect discernible change in service delivery. It therefore, necessitates a thorough analysis of existing structures and underlying causes in order to transform our civil service into an efficient and robust organ of state contributing to the comprehensive national security of Pakistan.