Daily Times

There are increasing signs that efforts are afoot to pit the institutions of the state against the state for ensuring that the arm of accountability does not reach the sanctimonious aprons of mafias who have indulged in remorseless loot and plunder. What is further worrisome is the role the bureaucracy is being provoked to playing in this sinister game-plan.

The obsequious path the bureaucracy has pursued through years to ingratiate itself with the political mafias tells a humiliating story. It also sheds light on the manner this service has degraded itself for miserly gains since the creation of the country.

The bureaucracy’s role in the new-born state was clearly enunciated by the Quaid in his address to the civil servants in Peshawar in April 1948: “The services are the backbone of the state. Governments are formed, governments are defeated. Prime ministers come and go, ministers come and go, but you stay on. 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 political leader or that political leader. This is not your business.”

He went on to elaborate: “If you want to raise the prestige and greatness of Pakistan, you must not fall victim to any pressure, but do your duty as servants of the people and the state, fearlessly and honestly”. The key point to note here is that they were meant to be servants of the state and the people, and not of the governments and political leaders.

True that the bureaucrats had arrogated untold political powers to themselves since very early on, but let it be conceded that, by and large, they had done so without either compromising their personal integrity or the national cause that they stood steadfast in safeguarding. There were the likes of Malik Ghulam Mohammad who became the Governor-General of the country, and Chaudhry Mohammad Ali who rose to become the Prime Minister — through their stints in power, their personal integrity remained unimpeachable.

The bureaucracy has never quite recovered from that debacle and has continued to bury itself further in the untold hubris of their office and the larger than life role that they assigned themselves encompassing misuse of power and indulging in gross corruption. This travesty was effectively exploited by the Sharifs who virtually reduced them to becoming their courtiers and foot-soldiers

In those days, it was the political elite that depended on the bureaucracy for guidance and efficient functioning of the state. They were not accustomed to seeking favours from this or that political leader for personal replenishments. They remained dedicated to promoting the supreme interest of the state.

This bureaucracy held sway during the testing times when the new-born country was fighting for survival. Yet, Pakistan did not have to approach any financial institution, including the IMF, for assistance. Instead, it had surplus amounts to lend to other states which are now amongst the developed countries of the world.

The watershed moment came during the tenure of Z. A. Bhutto who, by bringing in civil service reforms in 1973, first removed the constitutional protection which had been available to them, thus rendering them vulnerable, and then exposed them to unprecedented levels of perverse incentives including a share of the political, and consequently, the financial power.

The bureaucracy has never quite recovered from that debacle and has continued to burying itself further in the untold hubris of their office and the larger than life role that they assigned themselves encompassing misuse of power and indulging in gross corruption. This travesty was effectively exploited by the Sharifs who virtually reduced them to becoming their courtiers and foot-soldiers.

There is an unimaginably extensive and sickening galaxy of this despicable breed now available in the national annals to all who have fattened pockets and the glare of power to offer. Virtually all of them have sold their souls: some for a mere chunk of the power base, while others have debased themselves for financial incentives.

There is none more proficient in alluring them further and keeping them entrapped in their poisonous tentacles than the Sharifs. In the three decades that they have meddled in the national politics, they have politicised every aspect of the government, none more so than the bureaucracy and the key state institutions. They have used them to accumulate power by giving them a free hand in exchange to partake of the financial gains which are bestowed lavishly in recompense for services rendered. Their corruption is the only criterion to make them eligible for receiving their share of the state largesse. In fact, the more corrupt they are, the larger the share of the ill-gotten millions that would be made available to them. So, instead of the billionaire industrialists, businessmen and professionals, we now have this new, degenerate and utterly upstart breed of billionaire bureaucrats with putrid juices of wealth oozing out of every part of their bodies.

The cause of serving the state having been replaced with an infatuation for catering to their personal stocks by exploiting the intertwined base of power and money, a bulk of them are now arrogantly involved in ensuring the perpetuation of the sickening Sharif dispensation so that they could continue indulging shamelessly in an unhindered loot of the state exchequer.

The manner in which the Punjab bureaucracy is being incited to rise in rebellion against the actions of NAB is an integral component of the scheme which has been hatched by the Sharifs as part of their defence mechanism. Now that a key front man of the Punjab Chief Minister has been taken into custody, there is growing unease in the bureaucratic circles that the accountability arm may, after all, reach them.

This is another watershed moment for Pakistan. With the Sharifs inciting them to rebellion, will the bureaucracy further aggrandise its sordid partnership with the corrupt ruling elite who have skimmed the country of its riches through decades, or will it assert subservience to the state and submit for accountability?

In the former event, it would be the last nail in the coffin of enslavement of the bureaucracy as also a reconfirmation of their complicity in the cycle of corruption and crime and, in the latter event, it would be a token atonement for a host of sins committed in the past which have denuded the country of its integrity, credibility, character and grace.

The chances of the latter prospect are virtually negligible in the face of enhancing gratifications for continued enslavement.

It makes for a classic case of the state imploding without the proverbial bang!

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan

Published in Daily Times, February 27^th 2018.