HIGHER BUREAUCRACY IN PAKISTAN: AN HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF PRAISE AND BLAME

Abstract

The higher bureaucracy of Pakistan has been subject of praise and blame since the creation of the country, and continues to be so. It is argued here that failings on the part of the higher bureaucracy must be seen against the behavior of Chief Executives in the country, whether such executives were styled governor-general/ president or prime minister and whether such offices were managed by politicians, military persons or members of the bureaucracy itself. A major characteristic of legal/constitutional instruments of rule in the country has been that of centralization of power. The paper analyses the interaction between the higher bureaucracy and the chief executive period-wise, illustrating that bureaucracy behaved in accordance with the style of chief executives. For example, during Quaid-i-Azam-Liaqat period, higher bureaucracy felt secure and acquitted itself honestly. During Ghulam Muhammad-Iskander Mirza period, it showed selfishness and tremendous negligence in public affairs. Under Ayub Khan, materialist attitude led to corruption on larger scale than before. During Bhutto period and later, most of its members lost the sense of values, with adverse moral consequences in the social and political spheres.