Shortcut detour
IF there is one thing that annoys me more than cricket, it is any discussion of civil service reform. Pardon me if you find this piece more bothersome than usual.…
Tale of Alipur destruction
ALIPUR tehsil of district Muzaffargarh, 80 per cent of whose population has been marooned for weeks, is situated between two mighty rivers and is close to Panjnad where five rivers…
The last pit
GEORGE Masih had unclogged six completely choked raw sewage gutters with his bare hands. Working since 1 am, he was tired and felt increasingly dizzy. He gasped for every breath…
Producing poverty
FOR most of the Musharraf dictatorship, the World Bank, IMF and other lynchpins of the international financial architecture celebrated Pakistan’s economy. Real estate and stock market booms, the issuing of…
Wag the dog?
We seem to have become a nation obsessed with a single villain. Pakistan today is gripped by a kind of Orwellian imagination – a fascination with the idea of an…
Auditing the auditors?
These three institutions form the core pillars of the state’s financial accountability architecture, yet over the years, they have become relics of a colonial design – operating through outdated processes,…
Of ministers and secretaries
This piece is about the imperative need for harmony between politicians and bureaucracy. The unanimity must not be of protecting self-interest, but of the passion to serve selflessly the Nation. The…
Is parliament really powerful?
Democratic governments, by definition, are answerable and accountable to Parliament, which in turn is elected by the people. How can a government that is accountable or answerable to any other…
Bureaucracy—a facilitator or an impediment?
A complex structure with multiple layers and procedures is bureaucracy. In Latin, bureau means a writing table or desk; in French La bure means a cloth used on tables of…
Pakistan’s civil service crisis
There was a time when joining the Pakistan Civil Service was seen as the highest symbol of intellect and duty. These days, the civil service of Pakistan, once the pride…
