There was a time when joining the Pakistan Civil Service was seen as the highest symbol of intellect and duty. These days, the civil service of Pakistan, once the pride of authority, stands as an irrelevant monument of an outdated era. In its current form, the CSS system is neither civil nor a service. It is a leftover of colonial administration that was built to control its subjects, not to serve citizens.

Our bureaucracy remains trapped in the lucidity of the 19th century, while the global civil service administers governance with 21st-century tools. We inherited the system from the British Indian Civil Service, established in 1858. It was then designed to rule, but not to reform. Because of its nature, It rewarded obedience, not creativity. And even after seven decades of independence, we are witnessing the same.

Every year, approximately 35,000 young Pakistanis appear for the Central Superior Services examination, but only 250 succeed, resulting in a pass rate of less than one percent. It appears rigorous on paper, but in reality, it measures nothing but memory and conformity. Ever since the inception of the CSS exam, it has assessed the candidates for their ability to reproduce facts, not the ability to solve problems or solutions.

Once inducted, a young officer begins his/her journey of a career of endless rotation -- from assistant commissioner to deputy commissioner, then perhaps to chairperson of FBR, Ogra or PTA. Comparative analysis reflects that none of these roles require administrative instinct alone, but our CSS arrangement insists that one generalist can govern and administrate all domains. The outcome is perhaps inevitable -- paralysis disguised as protocol.

According to FPSC data, only 15 per cent of Pakistan’s 600,000 civil servants have relevant education. Pakistan operates with only 2.5 civil servants per 1,000 citizens and their training budget is only 0.5 per cent of their salary. We have one of the most understaffed, undertrained and overcentralised bureaucracies in Asia. The world has moved on, as countries that once shared our bureaucratic DNA have modernised their public service as a knowledge-based........

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