Comment: Make Establishment Division run as Military Secretary’s Branch

ISLAMABAD: The army chief’s vision to revive the economy and check mafia of all sorts is entirely dependent on the strength of the military. The fundamental challenge of curing the basic ills of our governance remains out of focus.

The entire civilian administrative machinery does not perform and has failed to deliver, which is the main reason for our failures in all areas, including economy, and bad governance. Setting up of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is the result of civilian side’s failure to respond to the economic challenges haunting the country and the nation.

The army chief, in his latest interaction with top businessmen of the country, has shown his determination to curb smuggling, check Qabza mafia, eradicate corruption and address other major problems.

Military can’t replace the civilian administration everywhere because of the latter’s huge size at all levels of federal, provincial and district set-ups. Fixing what has plagued the civilian bureaucracy will help fix most problems of our governance system.

It does not require huge reforms and no extra funding needed as well. Much difference can be created by just one decision – let the Establishment Division at the federal level and Services & General Administration Departments of the provinces run as Military Secretary’s Branch of the GHQ.

Depoliticise the civilian bureaucracy and let the Establishment Division do the personal management and career planning of bureaucracy, as is done by the MS Branch of Pakistan Army. Put an immediate end to postings and transfers of officers on the basis of connections and requisition. The ED should be given its original role of choosing the right person for the right job. No external influence should be allowed.

Empowerment and revival of the Establishment Division (S&GAD in the provinces) just require the prime minister’s complete backing and protection to the ED to act as the lead personnel management body of the country without accepting any external influence.

Pakistan Army’s strength, as an institution, is directly linked with the strength of its MS Branch. Merit-based appointments and promotions, career planning of each and every officer on the basis of his capabilities and performance, proper training, perfect evaluation system and internal accountability fall in the exclusive domain of MS Branch. No political or external interference is welcomed. Instead, if it is tried by someone, it will hurt the career of the officer concerned.

On the contrary, ED merely acts as a post office and appoints officers on the basis of external influences from all sides. No career planning is done. There is no concept of right man for the right job. Promotions, postings, at all levels, are done on the political or connections basis without even considering repute, experience and even relevance of the officer vis-a-vis the post he is offered.

Over the past 75 years, more than 20 commissions and committees were formed and studies and recommendations were given to successive governments. But mostly the suggested reforms remained unimplemented because of political reasons and owing to rulers’ unwillingness to depoliticise the bureaucracy.

History of civil service reforms shows more than civil bureaucracy, the political leadership and rulers (both democratic and dictators) have been the major hurdle in improving the system, as they have not been prepared to restrain themselves from interfering in the bureaucratic affairs.

At least six studies of civil service reforms were conducted from 1996 to 2008, mostly during General Musharraf’s dictatorship, pointing out the real ills of the civilian bureaucracy. But all these studies were shelved as even the military ruler avoided depoliticising the bureaucracy because of personal political gains.