Babu’s refuse to hand over power in Punjab

Even after completing their term, officials inducted during caretaker regime continue to dominate the political arena

LAHORE:

Although the civil society of a country loosely abiding by democratic principles is quick to detect monarchial patterns in electoral rule, the induction of civil servants remains more or less hidden away from public scrutiny thereby, paving the way for an autocracy of the bureaucracy to emerge in the core province.

Despite the passage of more than six months since the Pakistan Muslim League-N and its allies formed a government in Punjab, the powerful bureaucracy tasked with managing the administrative affairs of the province, has not been reformed by the new batch of statesmen, who are continuing to seek the services of officials inducted during the caretaker administration’s time.

According to Former Chief Secretary Punjab Imtiaz Masroor, historically, following the formation of every new government, the bureaucracy was reshuffled as a general rule. “However, this time around, negligible changes can be observed in the civil administration,” asserted Masroor.

As per details obtained by the Express Tribune, the bureaucratic set-up formed during the caretaker government’s tenure, whose only job was to conduct elections, is currently comprising almost three quarters of the current civil administration, giving the impression that the new government is a mere continuation of the caretaker regime, with no vision or policy of its own.

Out of more than 5,000 officers and bureaucrats in Punjab, only about 24 per cent of the officers have been changed, out of which 16 per cent have only had their seat changed while only 8 per cent have been transferred. Therefore, in the history of the province, this is the first time that the new government has failed to replace the officials of the bureaucracy comprising nearly 3,800 officers including in key positions, IG Punjab Police, CCPO Lahore and the respective Commissioners of Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur.

Salman Abid, a public policy advisor and political affairs analyst, was of the opinion that the current administration seemed more or less artificial. “In Punjab, the continuity of the same bureaucracy from the caretaker regime’s time has been maintained and no major changes have been made. This is the same bureaucracy that has been serving different governments for decades, in which no opportunity has been given to new people. The resultant lack of vision is reflected in the nominal improvement observed in issues pertaining to education, health, clean water, encroachment, traffic and the delivery of justice. In other words, the current political regime has not introduced any major reforms that can improve the lives of citizens,” criticized Abid, who believed that the devolution of power inscribed in the eighteenth amendment could not be achieved.

On the other hand, a bureaucrat from the Muslim League-N believed that since the party had ruled the province for 10 years, the incumbent officials were experienced at their jobs.
Former IG Police Dr Tariq Khokhar felt that tenure policy had always prevailed in the transfers and postings of the police. “Police officers have been kept at the same post for two years in the past. This benefits the department primarily because a police officer must have a long tenure to strengthen his professional expertise in the field. Only then can he eradicate anti-social elements,” claimed Dr Khokhar.

“Perhaps, it could be a mere coincidence that some of the officers of the previous tenure are still posted in important seats but now the government cannot bring in officers from other provinces. The officers are doing good work. When the government feels that they are not performing well, they will be dismissed,” announced Provincial Information Minister, Uzma Bukhari.