Bangladesh civil service team visits Lahore CSA today in historic first

LAHORE: A historic chapter in South Asian administrative cooperation will open today (Monday) as a high-level delegation of the Bangladesh Civil Service arrives in Lahore for its maiden visit to Pakistan since the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

The delegation will spend the day at the Pakistan Civil Services Academy (CSA), engaging with senior faculty and probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) in a bid to foster long-term professional collaboration between the two countries.

Led by Nasim-ul-Ghani, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh, the mission comprises some of Dhaka’s most senior civil servants, including Md Rezaul Karim, Additional Inspector General of Police; Md Zannatul Hassan, Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police; and Md Mahbubur Rehman, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs & Police Headquarters. Officials described the visit as an “unprecedented opportunity to explore modern governance strategies and shared heritage.”

Upon arrival at the Pakistan Administrative Service campus, the delegation will be received by Farhan Aziz Khawaja, Director General CSA, alongside Dr Faisal Zahoor, Director PAS, Usman Ali, Additional Director PAS, and Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan, Additional Director of the Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC). The visitors will be briefed on the evolution of Pakistan’s civil service training institutions, tracing their roots from the former Civil Service of Pakistan to the present-day PAS (Pakistan Administrative Service) with a focus on how training has been reshaped to meet contemporary needs such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital transformation, evidence-based policymaking, and citizen-centric service delivery. The programme will feature an interactive session with probationary officers undergoing the 48th Specialized Training Programme (STP), giving the guests an opportunity to exchange views with Pakistan’s next generation of administrators. Discussions are expected to centre on regional governance challenges, including climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, public safety, and inclusive economic development.

In addition to formal briefings, the day’s agenda includes a tour of a Pakistan Handicrafts Exhibition, organised in partnership with the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC). Traditional crafts — ranging from fine woodwork to handloom textiles — will be presented as a bridge between Pakistan’s rich artisanal culture and Bangladesh’s globally renowned textile industry, with officials noting the potential for heritage industries to fuel innovation, creative economies and bilateral trade.

As a symbolic gesture of friendship, the Academy will present the delegation with a Compendium of Books chronicling the subcontinent’s administrative history and the creation of the former Pakistan Administrative Staff College, today part of the CSA. The exchange is intended to honour a shared legacy while signalling a joint aspiration to reimagine civil service training as a hub of regional excellence.

The visit will conclude later in the evening with a ceremony featuring the exchange of souvenirs and pledges of enduring cooperation. Officials from both sides are expected to underline their commitment to building sustained institutional linkages between Pakistan’s PAS and Bangladesh’s elite cadre, enabling collaborative solutions for regional stability, prosperity and sustainable governance.

Senior observers described the visit as a timely reminder of the civil services’ role as a bridge between nations. “At a time when South Asia faces complex governance challenges, from climate resilience to digital transformation, peer-to-peer exchanges among administrators can unlock fresh pathways for policy innovation,” an official said.

Today’s engagement is expected to lay the groundwork for a series of professional exchanges, research partnerships and capacity-building initiatives, consolidating the civil services of Pakistan and Bangladesh as key actors in shaping a forward-looking governance agenda for the region.