This week, the International Crisis Group (ICG), renowned for an impartial perspective on international affairs, released a report on Reforming Pakistan’s Civil Service. The ICG analysis of the structure and functioning of Pakistan’s civil bureaucracy, shows that the levels of corruption in the obsolete accountability mechanisms could result in another military coup and increasing authoritarianism, unless the deteriorating civil service is urgently repaired. The changes may indeed already be irreversible as the report points to “a dramatic rise in military encroachments, as retired generals were appointed to key civil posts, such as the chairmanship of the Federal Public Service Commission, the premier agency for recruitment and promotions”.
