A Brief Analysis !
Principal Secretaries are the most potent Bureaucrats. Bureaucracy has deceived all and sundry. Then, it has deceived politicians the most. Then, bureaucracy befooled IK & PTI the most. Pl read the brief analysis. Details available on http://republicpolicy.com
The executive is the most significant of the three branches of government. Then, a permanent or bureaucratic executive ( Bureaucracy ) is more vital in the executive part as it is the implementing machinery of the legislature, executive and judiciary. A designed bureaucracy by British Raj ran India. Pakistan inherited the same, and the era between 1947-1956 is called the bureaucratic era. Since then, bureaucracy has been the most powerful despite a separation of judicial and legislative operations. Then, bureaucracy constantly maneuvered politicians in Pakistan for multiple reasons to date. Lately, the position of principal secretary has been the dominating position for a bureaucrat.
To begin with, how should a bureaucrat be a principal secretary of the prime minister or chief minister? Political executives, PMs or CMs should appoint political persons as their secretaries or principal secretaries. Why bureaucrats? Principal secretaries, secretaries of the Establishment Division and Services and General Administration Departments, home secretaries, finance secretaries and chief secretaries at respective federal and provincial levels are the most potent slots, and the political executive depends upon them for governance. However, lately, the principal secretary post dominates all these and the rest of the posts. Principal secretaries become the eyes and ears of the PMs and CMs. Even being bureaucrats, they become so powerful that they manage all administrative, political, financial and even personal issues of the PMs and CMs. They are typically so powerful now that it is their sweet wish whether they allow politicians to meet PMs and CMs. They influence all policies, and most importantly, they safeguard the interest of bureaucracy at the cost of governance, politics and political parties.
Azam Khan was the same coin. He dominated all appointments and administrative plans. For example, the civil service reforms initiative was also highjacked by bureaucracy with Azam Khan at their back. Bureaucracy made a fool of Imran Khan and the federal cabinet in the civil service reforms initiative led by Dr Ishrat Husain. For example, the civil service reforms initiative extended CSP rules in 1954 through executive orders. Then, through Azam Khan, the Establishment Division convinced Imran Khan that Pakistan Administrative Service PAS had 1960 provincial seats, whereas they had only 289 seats. Then, through the CSR initiative, Establishment Division got enhanced PAS seats from 289 to 1140, whereas they told IK that they reduced posts from 1960 to 1140. Likewise, almost they managed IK in all bureaucratic initiatives. Even they planted Shafqat Mahmood ( An ex-bureaucrat) on such tasks. Public house management transaction is in front of all of us. Even the PM, citizens portal PMDU, was declared unconstitutional by PHC, but establishment division through Azam Khan kept it alive. Thus, a few civil service documents were declared classified by IK, and bureaucracy generally believed that these were not even presented before IK.
Thus, it is astonishing for most bureaucrats to hear from Imran Khan that Azam Khan is honest. He may be honest, but he was a clever administrative and bureaucratic manager who managed his bureaucracy interests more than Ik and PTI. Therefore, they say, “Never trust a bureaucrat”.
The writer is editor at republicpolicy.com and a former police officer. Tahir Maqsood Chheena can be reached at @tahir_cheena
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