by Mohammad Jamil
The Task Force on Civil Services Reforms (TFCSR), constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, is aiming at curtailing the powers of prime minister and chief ministers regarding appointments on prestigious slots of federal secretaries, chief secretaries and others. It is indeed a bold initiative, as anybody having the position of chief executive would not like give away his powers. It is obvious from the recent scams involving billions of rupees that political and bureaucratic corruption were interlocked, and corruption usually involves the top politicians hand-in-glove with the bureaucracy in plundering the nation’s wealth. Adviser to Prime Minister for Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr. Ishrat Hussain, who is also the chairman of TFCRS, held meetings with officers of various departments and services at the Committee Room of the Civil Secretariat to consult on depoliticisation of civil services and to get their suggestions regarding the proposed reforms in the civil bureaucracy.
Talking to the national daily, Dr Ishrat was of the view that in order to depoliticise the civil services, the discretionary powers of the chief executives of the federal and provincial governments would be curtailed. “We will develop a system to select a panel of officers for a post after evaluating their performance. The prime minister and chief ministers will have to select an officer from the given panel instead of appointing an officer of own choice. We will develop such a strong system that chief executives of the federal and provincial governments will have to follow the system,” he maintained. Of course, political leaders across the board would not be happy over losing power to make appointments of their choice. After the reforms are implemented, many would not find any charm in politics, as many privileges have already been taken away from them.
The fact remains that the destiny of a nation depends on the determination of its people, but there has to be a leader with vision, courage and wisdom to inspire them to unite in their struggle for safeguarding the sovereignty and independence of their country, and to put it on the path of progress and prosperity. But leadership cannot emerge in the present system. Since the leaderships of major political parties revolve around the founder or his family members, Pakistan could not get second and third tiers of leadership. As a matter of fact, ruling classes comprising jagirdars, members of civil and military bureaucracy and comprador industrialists ruled the country under different denominations since inception of Pakistan. According to Hegel, to be successful, a leader has to be conversant with – rather in harmony with – the spirit of the age.
A real leader is a master strategist and a great tactician, who blends pragmatism with idealism to achieve the desired objective of a better life for its people including their safety. The decision of taking electable in the party’s fold was emblematic of Imran Khan’s pragmatism; and his vow to fight the scourge of corruption is an expression of idealism. Leadership is described as poetry; and its composition depends more on natural instincts and knowledge of an individual and less on his training. One must look at the methodology of a botanist with his plants or an agricultural expert with an orchard. An agricultural scientist observes all the factors affecting the growth of the trees in an orchard including the effect of laws of nature, climatic and environmental conditions, the culture and type of trees, and then uses his knowledge, experience and expertise for the benefit of the trees.
So does a genuine and conscientious leader with world vision and conscious of social, cultural and economic conditions of the people. He approaches the innermost feelings of the people, mobilizes them against the decadent system to put the society on the road to development. One could criticize leaders on many counts, yet none of the first seven prime ministers, military dictator Ayub Khan and prime minister late Z.A. Bhutto were ever accused of corruption and plundering of the national resources. Imran Khan happens to be such a leader, as even his opponents cannot accuse him of corruption. His opponents criticize him for keeping mum over the improbity of PTI leaders, but he will not compromise on principles and if corruption is proved against anyone, he will be shown the door.
