THE ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY IN THE POLITICS OF

PAKISTAN (1947-1969): A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

BY

IRFAN AHMED SHAIKH

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for

the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in

History and Civilization

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and

Human Sciences

International Islamic University Malaysia

MAY 2017

ii

ABSTRACT

Bureaucracy is the backbone of any polity, society or administrative unit, and the

strength of a country’s administrative and bureaucratic structures is a key index of

national development. Pakistan’s civil service (as with its armed forces, railways and

many other institutions) is a direct continuation of the Colonial Government of India.

The British colonial system had such inherent strengths for practical governance that in

post-independence Pakistan the civil service emerged as the most important power

broker, and more often than once it was a king-maker. This study discusses and analyses

the impact of the role of the bureaucracy on the political evolution of Pakistan,

particularly in the context of Jinnah’s vision regarding the role of civil servants in the

affairs of the state. It also examines the factors that led the Pakistani government to take

a course entirely different from Jinnah’s ideal. The study helps in developing a

comprehensive understanding of South Asian politics and Muslim political

development in the postcolonial era. Various studies have been conducted on the role

of the civil service in the politics of Pakistan, especially relating to the early days of

state formation when it served as a powerbroker, but their results are varied and

contradictory. Furthermore, the most detailed accounts are the memoirs of bureaucrats

themselves, who often seek to blame manifest deficiencies in Pakistan on the

inefficiency and incapability of politicians and the intrinsic difficulties of new states,

while highlighting their own contributions to the well-being and development of the

country. Few studies have endeavored to examine and evaluate the existing literature

on Pakistani bureaucracy that identify the shortcomings in the system and its operation,

thus this study addresses this research gap with a more thorough and extensive

examination of the relevant themes, particularly with a comparative study with the civil

service system of India.

iii

البحث ملخصABSTRACT IN ARABIC

قوة الدولة ة، و جمتمع وحىت ألبسط وحدة إداري أو البريوقراطية هي العمود الفقري ألي دولةاإلدارية واهليكلية هي املؤشر الرئيسي لقياس التنمية الوطنية. اخلدمة املدنية يف ابكستان )كذلك تشمل قواهتا املسلحة، والسكك احلديدية، والعديد من املؤسسات األخرى( هي استمرار

ا يطاين كان نظام للخدمة اليت كانت تقدمها احلكومة اهلندية قبل االستقالل. النظام احملتل الب ، امؤثر وصفها ب، حىت أن يف مرحلة ما بعد استقالل ابكستان ههرت اخلدمة املدنية وقوي اعملي

هذه الرسالة تُناقش مطلقة، تستطيع اختاذ القرارات لوحدها. قوة بصف وههر يف أكثر من مرة د علي جناح بشأن دور حمم وحتلل أثر البريوقراطية يف التطور السياسي بباكستان يف سياق رؤية

يت ا هتدف إىل حتديد ودراسة العوامل الموهفي اخلدمة املدنية يف شؤون الدولة. الدراسة أيض ستساهم لك كذا عن رؤية جناح. دفعت احلكومة الباكستانية لالحنراف إىل مسار خمتلف متام

د االستعمار.عيف فهم السياسة يف جنوب آسيا والتطور السياسي للمسلمني يف عصر ما بالعديد من الدراسات تناولت موضوع دور اخلدمة املدنية يف السياسة الباكستانية، خاصة فيما يتعلق ابلفرتة املبكرة بعد استقالل الدولة، عندما استعملت سلطة قرارية، لكن كانت نتائج

ثر تفصيال كتلك األحباث متنوعة ومتناقضة يف الوقت نفس. إضافة إىل ذلك، فإن التقارير األهي مذكرات البريوقراطيني أنفسهم، الذين عادة ما يلقوا ابللوم على القصور يف أداء اخلدمة

، مع تركيزهم ديدة اليت تواجهها الواليتاجلوالصعوابت اجلوهرية ،املدنية وعدم كفاءة السياسينيمي و ت لتقات سعيف مذكراهتم على مسامهاهتم يف رفاهية وتنمية البالد. القليل من الدراس

املعلومات املتوفرة عن البريوقراطية الباكستانية واليت سعت يف حتديد أوج القصور والعيوب يفهذه ا تسلط الضوء علىالنظام وتشغيل أو تطبيق هذا النظام، ولذا فإن هذه الدراسة أيض

خلدمة املدنية اال سيما موضوع املقارنة مع نظام و ، وعات أخرىالفجوة مع التوسع والتطرق ملوض .يف اهلند

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APPROVAL PAGE

The dissertation of Irfan Ahmed Shaikh has been approved by the following:

__________________________________

Arshad Islam

Supervisor

__________________________________

Yunus Gilani

Internal Examiner

__________________________________

Ishtiayaq Ahmed Zilli

External Examiner

__________________________________

Saiyid Zaheer Hussain Jafri

External Examiner

__________________________________

Fouad Mahmud Mohammed Rawash

Chairperson

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigation, except where

otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted

as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Irfan Ahmed Shaikh

Signature…………………....………. Date …….……………….

vi

COPYRIGHT

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF

FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

THE ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY IN THE POLITICS OF

PAKISTAN (1947-1969): A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

I declare that the copyright holder of this dissertation are jointly owned by the

student and IIUM.

Copyright © 2017 Irfan Ahmed Shaikh and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights

reserved.

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except

as provided below

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may

be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print

or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system

and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other

universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM

Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Irfan Ahmed Shaikh

……..…………………….. ………………………..

Signature Date

vii

DEDICATION

I fondly and gratefully dedicate this research work to my highly respected and beloved

parents Mr. Hakeem Nazir Ahmed Shaikh and Mrs. Hussun Bano, who have been the

constant source of my support and inspiration all through my life, and the reason

behind all my achievements. But for their prayers, love and support, this thesis would

not have been possible.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the first place, I would like to specially thank my Mentor, Supervisor and Guide,

Associate Professor Dr. Arshad Islam, for accepting to guide me through this research

work. Throughout the progress of this work he has been extending his endless support,

encouragement and guidance which enabled this thesis to take shape and move towards

successful completion.

It is a pleasant duty to thank my revered parents and my family whose constant

support and motivation I have always cherished and greatly benefited from. My wife

Safia deserves special thanks for supporting me tremendously with my life and with this

work, patiently taking care of our domestic life and facilitating my concentration to

successfully complete this thesis.

It is my immense pleasure to thank all my dear friends and brothers, including

Dr. Saad S. Khan, Irshad Soomro, Ashfaque Ahmed Shaikh, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh,

Imran Ahmed Shaikh, Faique Shaikh, Naeemullah Shaikh and Qurysh Khattak who

were kind enough to help me with accommodation and transportation and supported my

data collection process in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Hyderabad.

My Dissertation Committee too deserves to be thanked for their attentive

assistance and advice. I would also like to appreciate and sincerely thank all those who

have been good enough to spare their valuable time and effort to help me with this thesis

in several ways.

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii Abstract in Arabic .................................................................................................. iii

Approval Page ....................................................................................................... iv Declaration ............................................................................................................ v

Copyright .............................................................................................................. vi Dedication ............................................................................................................. vii

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... viii List of Acts/Ordinances/Constitutions .................................................................... xi

List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................. xii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of Study ............................................................................ 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................... 4 1.3 Significance of the Study ...................................................................... 5

1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................... 6 1.5 Research Objectives .............................................................................. 6

1.6 Literature Review ................................................................................. 7 1.7 Methods and Procedures ....................................................................... 28

1.8 Research Organization/ Proposed Chapter Outline ................................ 29

CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTERISTICS OF PAKISTAN’S

BUREAUCRACY ................................................................................................ 30 2.1 Concept of Bureaucracy ........................................................................ 30

2.1.1 Background and Origin of Bureaucracy ....................................... 34

2.2 What Weber says about Bureaucracy .................................................... 38 2.3 Weber’s Theory and Pakistan’s Bureaucracy......................................... 40

2.4 A Historical Overview of Bureaucratic Conduct in Pakistan .................. 47 2.4.1 Simon Commission: ..................................................................... 57

2.4.2 The Indian Government Act, 1935 ............................................... 58 2.4.3 The Structure of British Administration ....................................... 59

2.5 Bureaucratic Legacy and the Mentality of ICS officers ......................... 60 2.6 Power Structure/Hierarchy system ........................................................ 63

CHAPTER THREE: BUREAUCRACY IN POLITICS .................................... 69 3.1 The Close Aftermath of Independence: 1947-1958 and the role

played by Bureaucracy .......................................................................... 69

3.1.1 Role of Cabinet and Parliament .................................................... 74 3.1.2 Establishment of Government ...................................................... 75

3.2 Transitional phase 1949-1953 ............................................................... 78 3.2.1 Constitutional crises ..................................................................... 79

3.2.2 Martial Law in Lahore ................................................................. 81 3.2.3 Rise of Bureaucracy ..................................................................... 81

3.3 Civil-Military Bureaucratic Alliance (1953-58) ..................................... 86 3.3.1 Dissolution of Constituent Assembly ........................................... 89

3.4 Post Marshal Law Period: 1958-1969 .................................................... 95

x

3.5 Dominant Factors of Civil Services and formulation of Major Policy

Decisions .............................................................................................. 98 3.6 Delays in Constitution-Making Process and One Unit Plan ................... 107

CHAPTER FOUR: BUREAUCRACY UNDER AYUB KHAN ........................ 118 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 118

4.1.1 Reports concerned with administrative reforms from 1947-

1958 ............................................................................................ 121 4.2 Changes in Bureaucracy under Ayub Khan ........................................... 122

4.3 Dominance of Military Bureaucrats....................................................... 129 4.4 Constitution of 1956 ............................................................................. 138

4.4.1 The Powers of the President in the Constitution of 1956 .............. 139 4.5 Basic Democracy .................................................................................. 143

4.6 Constitution of 1962 ............................................................................. 152 4.7 Bureaucratic Reforms and Results ......................................................... 156

4.7.1 Historical Overview ..................................................................... 157

CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIA’S BUREAUCRACY .... 162 5.1 Genesis of Indian Bureaucracy .............................................................. 164

5.2 The Acclimatization of Bureaucracy in Independent India .................... 170 5.3 Post-Independence Bureaucratic Achievements .................................... 177

5.4 Relationships between Bureaucrats and Politicians................................ 186 5.5 Reforms in Indian Bureaucracy ............................................................. 196

5.6 Critical Examination of the Characteristics of Indian Bureaucracy ........ 203

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION........................................................................ 211 6.1 A Comparative Evaluation of Bureaucratic Performance ....................... 213

6.2 Major Findings ..................................................................................... 218 6.3 Recommendations for Future Research ................................................. 229

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 231

GLOSSARY ......................................................................................................... 245

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................... 246

APPENDIX B: PHOTOS .................................................................................... 247

xi

LIST OF ACTS/ORDINANCES/CONSTITUTIONS

Regulation Act 1773: This Act introduced by Lord North to overhaul the administration

of the East India Company. This was perhaps the first step to control large parts of the

Indian territories through the establishment of army to safeguard the interests of

Company.

Cornwallis Code of 1793: This code was enacted in 1793 by the then Governor-General

of India Lord Cornwallis (1986-1793), in order to improve the governance of British

occupied territories in India.

Charter Act of 1813: Through this Act British Government renewed charter to East

India Company to continue its rule in India.

Government of India Act of 1833: This Act extended the Company’s rule for next 20

years.

Charter Act of 1853: This Act also renewed the company’s rule.

The Government of India Act 1858: Through This Act Company’s rule ended and

power was transferred to British Crown.

The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms or The Government of India Act of 1919. Through

these reforms, Indians were given the right to participate in the government of India.

The Indian Government Act of 1935: This is the longest Act ever enacted by British

Parliament by that time. It was also a last constitution of British India lasted till the

partition of Indian Sub-Continent.

Indian independence Act 1947: This Act granted partition to Indian Sub-continent into

two separate dominions of India and Pakistan.

Objective Resolution of 1949: This Resolution is a preamble of future constitutions of

Pakistan. This Resolution enacted on 12 March 1949 by the Constituent Assembly of

Pakistan.

Constitution of 1956: First Constitution of Pakistan enacted on 23rd March 1956.

Basic Democracies Ordinance 1959: This ordinance was enforced during the regime of

Ayub Khan to strengthen his rule.

Constitution of 1962: Second Constitution of Pakistan enforced on 8th June 1962.

xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ADC aide-de-camp

AIS All India Services

ARC Administrative Reform Committee

CMLA Chief Martial Law Administrator

CSP Civil Service of Pakistan

DMG District Management Group

EBDO Elective Bodies (Disqualification) Order

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

IAS Indian Administrative Service

ICS Indian Civil Service

IP Indian Police

MLA Member of Legislative Assembly

MNA Member National Assembly

MP Member of Parliament

MPA Member Provincial Assembly

NWFP North West Frontier Province

NAP National Awami Party

O&M Organization and Methods

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PODO Public Offices (Disqualification) Order

PPP Pakistan People’s Party

PRODA Public and Representative Office (Disqualification) Act, 1949

PSP Provincial Service of Pakistan

PSUs Public Sector Undertakings

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Bureaucracy is the backbone of any polity, society or administrative unit. The strength

of a country is, among other things, reflected by the strength of its administrative and

bureaucratic structures. It is not without reason that Winston Churchill (1874-1965),

called the Indian Civil Service (ICS) “our steel frame of India”. It was not the might of

the British Army that held India together for so long and so effectively under the sway

of British sovereignty but some 340 Deputy Commissioners and Collectors, who

ensured the rule of law and the dispensation of justice, and upheld the writ of the

government over the vast country. Pakistan’s civil service - just like its armed forces,

railways and many other institutions - was a direct continuation of the civil service of

the erstwhile British India. With its in-built strengths, the system was bound to emerge

in post-independence Pakistan as the most important wielder of power and in the

chequered history of the country, more than once it easily assumed the role of king-

maker. From its foundation in 1947, Pakistan was faced with three major problems

which were destined to determine its future. Firstly, it was established on the basis of

ideological demand for the foundation of an Islamic State.1 It entailed the reconciliation

of Islam with the exigencies of modern statecraft. This was to prove a great challenge

for Pakistan. Secondly, Pakistan was created through the merger of several diverse

cultural entities separated by language, race and varying levels of economic

development.2 Hence, the second elementary challenge to Pakistan's survival was

1 Charles. H. Kennedy, Bureaucracy in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1987), pp. 1-2. 2 Ibid., p. 3.

2

incompatible regionalism. A third essential problem that has challenged the integrity of

Pakistan concerns its incapability to achieve a balanced level of institutional

development. This proved to be a very serious problem as successive governments in

Pakistan (military and non-military) have remained exceedingly dependent on the

civilian bureaucracy for the entire process of the policy-making process, since civil

bureaucrats viewed the growth of political institutions as a potential challenge to their

authority.3

It is no secret that Pakistan’s civil servants have been a potent force in the affairs

of the country and their role at various points of time has been crucial. Right from the

very outset, the founder of the country, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876-

1948), placed great emphasis on the role of civil servants. Many of his close confidantes

were civil servants, including Chaudhry Mohammad Ali (1905-1980), who became the

first Secretary General to the Federal Cabinet, and Malik Ghulam Mohammad (1895-

1956), who was a technocrat and who became the first Finance Minister of the nascent

Pakistani state. These two civil servants later rose to become the Prime Minister and the

Governor-General of Pakistan, respectively. As Khalid bin Sayeed opined:

When the third Governor-General of Pakistan, Malik Ghulam

Mohammad dissolved Pakistan’s rump parliament (Constitutional

Assembly) on October 24, 1954, and chose his Council of All Talents, it

was as if a sort of Viceroy’s Executive Council had reappeared in which

real power was in the hands of administrators. Malik Ghulam

Mohammad initially started his career as a civil servant in the Indian

Audit and Account Service. Later, General Iskander Mirza, also a civil

servant, who had been the secretary of the Ministry of Defence and later

become the Governor of Bengal, was placed in charge of the Ministries

of Interior and States and Frontier Regions. Continuing this trend,

Chaudhri Mohammad Ali became the Minister for Finance and

Economic Affairs. He had also originally been a civil servant, having

worked as Secretary General and Cabinet Secretary under Liaquat Ali

Khan and later becoming Finance Minister under Khwaja Nazimuddin.

General Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief, was given the Ministry of

3 Ibid., pp. 3-4.

3

Defence. Thus, all the portfolios were in safe hands. Men with strong

Muslim League affiliation were deliberately kept out, while

independents like Khan Sahib or industrialists like M.A.H Isphahani

were included. Mohammad Ali (Bogra) continued as Prime Minister, but

his abject subservience to the Governor-General may be gauged from

the fact that even though he was a Muslim League Prime Minister (and

the President of the Muslim League), he advised the Governor-General

to dissolve a constituent Assembly which had an overwhelming Muslim

League majority and to replace the Muslim League Cabinet.4

It was not an exception the bureaucrats continued to rise to the highest possible

positions of the land, such as Iskandar Mirza (1898-1969), Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1915-

2006) and Farooq Leghari (1940-2010). This is besides the four army chiefs who

controlled the affairs of the state at one time or the other for prolonged periods but who

do not come under the purview of this investigation (as its focus is on civil bureaucracy).

Moreover, countless governors, federal ministers and other holders of

public/political offices came from a civil service background. Five out of the first nine

Chief Justices of Pakistan came from an ICS background. According to Charles H.

Kennedy:

It is impossible to adequately assess Pakistan's civilian bureaucracy

without placing it in the context of Pakistan's political history. It has been

noticed that the bureaucracy was the creation of the tradition, norms and

the practice inherited from the British Raj. The peculiar historical

circumstances which led to the formation of the Indian Subcontinent’s

Islamic State and the troubled history of the new state since partition

provided it the opportunity to assert itself beyond its measure and

effectively hold the levers of real power in the country. This helped it in

assuming the role of a critical and decisive determinant in the process of

political development of Pakistan5.

4 Khalid Bin Sayeed, Pakistan, The Formative phase (Karachi: Pakistan Publishing house, 1960), p.386. 5 Charles, p.11

4

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Bureaucracy is rightly considered as the keystone on which the edifice of a polity rests.

As a result, in the case of a newly born and emerging country, the role of bureaucracy

assumes greater fundamental importance in evolving and developing its administrative

structure. In the case of postcolonial developing countries in general, and Pakistan in

particular, bureaucracy has generally failed to play its intended role in providing

essential public services; rather it has been used as a platform for the pursuit of power

politics, by direct or indirect means. This study seeks to determine the implications of

this process on the political condition of Pakistan.

After Partition, both India and Pakistan inherited the bureaucratic legacy of the

British Raj. In the context of a vast influx of educated and aspirant ‘Indian’ Muslims to

West Pakistan, the indigenous feudal elite ensured that it continued to dominate politics,

and many of its members joined the Muslim League (hitherto primarily an Indian

phenomenon) to further their vested interests in the newly established country. The

Muslim League itself connived in the manipulation of the civil service for partisan

advantages, and with a view to consolidating a permanent foothold in the establishment

they entered into an alliance with the feudal elites of Pakistan. As a result, top-level

positions in the administration of Pakistan came to be occupied by an oligarchy of

families of feudal magnates. Individual changes in personnel thus represented little

more than a ceremonial exercise (a changing of the guard) while the core of feudal

families continued to furnish the most important bureaucrats; thus they wielded the real

power from the creation of Pakistan.

This oligarchic arrangement was a continuation of the pre-partition situation.

Throughout India, traditional feudal elites and the zamindar class, both Muslim and

Hindu, continued to enjoy special privileges in terms of education and (subsequently)

5

bureaucratic and military positions under the British Raj, and this continued throughout

the subcontinent after independence (given that the same political class essentially

continued to monopolize the levers of government). Although the middling class of

merchants gained most from the British Raj, obvious examples being Jinnah and

Gandhi, modernising land reforms in India after independence led to a redistribution of

wealth and positions of authority to the benefit of the educated middle class (mainly at

the expense of the feudal elites), while in the regions covered by West Pakistan the land-

based feudal system remained intact, and it was guaranteed by continued and unreserved

official patronage.

Existing research on the political role of the bureaucracy usually approaches the

subject endogenously, and little attention has been paid to comparing it with the

conditions of neighbouring countries and the evolution of administrative structures and

institutions there. There is thus an imperative need to initiate an extensive comparative

study of the conditions obtaining in Pakistan and other regional countries, particularly

India. This will help to understand how and why the civil service and the constitutional

and political arrangements of Pakistan developed in a unique way.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the proposed study, it will be argued that the vision of Jinnah regarding the role of

the civil service was very clear. It found its fullest expression in his two famous

speeches to civil servants, one in Dhaka on 24th March 1948, and the other in Peshawar

on 14th April 1948. He envisioned a civil service which would be thoroughly

professional and depoliticized, and fully motivated to serve the masses as their servants,

not as their masters, reflecting the British democratic ideal (though not the reality)

propagated during colonial rule. The proposed study aims to discuss and analyse the

6

impact of the role of the bureaucracy on the political evolution of Pakistan, particularly

in the context of Jinnah’s vision regarding the role of civil servants in the affairs of the

state. An endeavour will also be made to determine and examine the factors that led it

to take a course that was entirely different from the one visualized by him. This study

will be useful with great relevance to Pakistan’s current situation and its future, which

is important for a comprehensive understanding of South Asian politics, and Muslim

political development in the postcolonial era. It is also expected to provide important

inputs for the future policy making of the country.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This research aims to answer the following four questions, in order to understand and

analyse the phenomenon:

1. Has the civil service played a dominant role in the politics of Pakistan?

2. Were the institutional factors responsible for strengthening the civil

servants far beyond their constitutional and legal mandate?

3. How does the Pakistani civil service compare with those of other developing

states with similar economic development in terms of their role in politics

(particularly India)?

4. Have the institutional factors continued to inhibit an effective, impartial and

depoliticized bureaucratic structure in the country?

1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The four objectives are:

1. To explore the role of the civil service in Pakistan’s political evolution.

7

2. To explore the institutional factors which have enabled civil servants to

commit acts that exceed their constitutional and legal mandate.

3. To compare the role of the civil service in the political facet of Pakistan as

opposed to those of other developing states having similar economic

development, specifically India.

4. To explore if these factors still continue to affect the impartiality and

theoretically depoliticized the bureaucratic structure of Pakistan today.

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

To address the subject adequately, the researcher reviewed existing literature in the field

related to this topic. Various studies have been conducted on the theme of the role of

the civil service in the politics of Pakistan, especially relating to the early days of state

formation when it served as a powerbroker. The results of existing researches have been

varied and contradictory. Furthermore, the most detailed accounts are the memoirs of

the bureaucrats themselves as they squarely put the blame for deficiencies in the

performance of the civil service on the inefficiency and incapability of politicians or the

intrinsic difficulties of new states, while highlighting their own contributions to the

well-being and development of the country.

Few studies have endeavoured to dispassionately and objectively study,

examine and evaluate the existing literature in this area, both by pro- and anti-

bureaucratic scholars, to identify their shortcomings and failings with a view to filling

the existing research gaps. Some of the key books and articles that have been written on

the role of bureaucracy in the politics of Pakistan during first twenty years of its

independence are as follows:

8

Khan, Mohammad Mohabbat, (1980), Bureaucratic Self-preservation:

Failure of Major Reform Efforts in the Civil Service of Pakistan.6 This book

contributes very important source on the subject. It basically deals with the failure of

reforms in the bureaucracy and critically analyses the role of bureaucracy in the

implementation process. The author analytically describes the half-hearted role played

by politicians in the enforcement of the reforms in bureaucracy. In this regard he argues

that the support of political leadership is not only desirable, but absolutely essential if

major administrative reforms are to succeed. In Pakistan, particularly during its early

years, the political leadership was apathetic to administrative reform. This is evident by

the fact that during the parliamentary period (1953-1958), politicians were interested in

jockeying for their particular positions, which led to bitter in-fighting, leaving little if

any time to provide serious consideration to reforming the bureaucracy. This naturally

and considerably weakened the politicians in relation to the bureaucracy and rendered

the civil servants the best organized and cohesive power brokers, with full knowledge

and control of the higher bureaucracy throughout Pakistan. Ultimately this kind of

situation encouraged the civil service to curb any attempt to reform it, accentuating the

problems and ills that affected it and undermined national democratization and

development.

The book further points out that the history of Pakistan clearly indicates that

insufficient attention was given to changing the attitudes of civil servants after the

creation of the new country. It was a well-known fact that almost all the members of the

civil service of Pakistan were intrinsically against the major administrative reforms

being circulated among the political and intellectual classes, which could affect their

6 Mohammad Muhabbat Khan, Bureaucratic Self-preservation: Failure of Major Administrative Reform Efforts in the Civil Service of Pakistan (Dhaka: University of Dacca, 1980).

9

position (i.e. undermine their power) and reduce their personal privileges and nepotism.

Concurrently, these civil servants had a significant say as to the fate of these reforms

simply because they controlled the machinery through which the reforms were to be

implemented. Consequently, without drastic changes in the attitude of the bureaucracy,

and its relation to the legislature, the reforms were doomed to fail from their inception.

Shahab, Qudratullah, (1987), Shahab Nama (Urdu).7 This is an

autobiography based on his personal experiences and original source on the bureaucratic

set-up of Pakistan. The author was a civil servant in British India who opted to join the

Pakistani civil services after partition. The author worked at various positions in the

bureaucracy of Pakistan and wrote this book after his departure from a long civil

services career. He describes many first-hand accounts of the role and policies of civil

servants in politics and the role of politicians in the civil service. The problems of a

newly born country are explained at length, including settlement and rehabilitation of

refugees, implementation of law, distribution of land, government planning and policies

and constitutional reforms.

This book stipulates the aptitude and role of bureaucrats like Ghulam

Mohammad, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali, Iskandar Mirza and Ayub Khan by

manipulating the situation of the country and occupying and controlling the political

authority. This book covers the period of almost all rulers from 1947 until the period of

Yahya Khan in 1969. In this book the author describes the corruption and malpractices

in bureaucracy and discusses the factors that enabled bureaucrats to infiltrate political

power (mainly because of incapable political leadership). The author also discusses in

detail the reforms in bureaucracy initiated by Ayub Khan after assuming power, but

7 Qudratullah Shahab, Shahabnama, (Lahore: Sangmeel Publication, 1987).

10

according to the author’s analysis, he failed to successfully implement bureaucratic

reform, and only superficial changes were achieved.

This book is an authentic source material on the subject as the author is famous

for his honesty and dedication to the country, based on his distinguished professional

reputation. However, there are notable omissions in the book, such as the lack of

discussion concerning the Indian counterparts of the Pakistani civil service, which

would have been a welcome addition to the field as the author had experience of both

systems. Nevertheless, this book is a valuable primary source for authentic contextual

information.

Kennedy, Charles, H. (1987), Bureaucracy in Pakistan.8 This important book

on the role of bureaucracy in Pakistan basically postulates that Pakistan’s civilian

framework is inseparably embedded in the political history, culture as well as the

institutions of the state. Three significant challenges had beset Pakistan’s earlier

decades of statehood, namely (i) the challenge of reconciling the demand to have an

Islamic polity with the equally compelling demand for the formation of a secular polity;

(ii) the challenge of integrating rivalling regional demands in the context of the state;

and (iii) the challenge associated with unequal amount of institutional and political

development. The author is of the view that the civilian bureaucracy has played a very

significant role in the formulation of governmental policy to fulfil each of the above

challenges and it may have been instrumental in the determination of governmental

policy regarding each one of the foregoing issues. The political leaders usually are

haphazardly replaced, but the power from the administrative system and also authority

of the bulk of its officers is impervious to change. It is in this context that the value of

8 Charles. H. Kennedy, Bureaucracy in Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1987).

11

civilian bureaucracy has to be assessed. Patently, in addition to serving as the key

executive branch associated with the government, in the absence of countervailing

institutions the bureaucracy of Pakistan is the primary legislative branch too. This

power, except for occasional incursions by political leaders, ultimately remains

supreme.

The author rightly feels that it is not possible to adequately and fairly assess

Pakistan’s civil service without placing it in the context Pakistan’s political history. As

seen earlier, the bureaucracy is a development of the traditions, norms and practices

inherited from the British Raj; the peculiar circumstances which resulted in the

formation of Pakistan; and the troubled history of the new state due to the partition. In

the context of these factors, Pakistan’s civilian bureaucracy has acted as a critical

determinant of Pakistan’s political progress. Moreover at the time of the partition, the

degree of institutional capabilities that Pakistan’s bureaucracy exhibited was in fact far

ahead of other political institutions in the state. This advantage was translated into a

comparatively high degree of bureaucratic control of the political process during the

early years of Pakistan’s statehood. This was partially a consequence of the comparative

weak spots of other potentially competitive political establishments, like legislatures,

political parties, interest groups and so forth.

Rizvi, Hassan Askari, (1987), The Military and Politics in Pakistan.9Although

this work does not give much details about civilian bureaucracy, it provides valuable

information about the coordination between it and the military, and elaborates on the

full support of the former for the latter in overthrowing civilian governments. The close

association between the military and bureaucracy are part and parcel of postcolonial

9 Hassan Askari Rizwi, The Military and Politics in Pakistan 1947-86 (Lahore: Progressive Publishers,

1987).

12

developing nations around the world. They are organized in rigid hierarchies and have

a special involvement in political stability as well as modernization. The armed forces,

due to their strategic position in the society, displaced the civil government, alone or in

collaboration with the bureaucracy. The author further argues that the military lacks the

necessary administrative expertise to rule without service from bureaucrats. The civil

servants cannot overthrow military rule or work contrary to the wishes of the military

at all times; thus they form a symbiotic marriage of convenience. The author also

explains that in Pakistan the ruling elite begun to cultivate the armed forces to strengthen

their position in the body-politic. For instance, Ghulam Mohammad, Chaudhary

Mohammad Ali and Iskandar Mirza had bureaucratic backgrounds and relied heavily

on the civilian bureaucracy and the army. This interdependence helped both those

segments to strengthen their own position and authority.

Choudhury, G. W. (1988), Pakistan: Transition from military to civilian

Rule.10 This book constitutes an important source on the subject. The author takes

special and detailed note of the facts regarding the bureaucratic role in politics and

failure of democracy in Pakistan in the early years of its independence. The author feels

that the genuine threats and troubles to democracy in Pakistan originated from an all-

powerful but irresponsible executive in Pakistan, which had been abetted, aided and

supported by the powerful bureaucracy. The executive in Pakistan has been from its

very inception extremely effective and dominating. Since its emergence as a state, the

performance of the governmental functions in Pakistan has been dominated by this

executive, bureaucracy as well as army. He further argues that the political tradition in

the subcontinent has been that of a strong executive, first under oriental rulers, and then

10 G. W. Chaudhary, Pakistan Transition from military to civilian rule (England: scorpion publishing

Ltd.,1988).