Finally, I have an answer to the above question. Yesterday I was sitting next to one of the policy heavyweights of Pakistan Muslim League (N). During the conversation I asked him about the total lack of performance of the bureaucracy in the largest province of the republic. Without a wink of an eye, he said, It is the same set-up that produced results under Shahbaz Sharif”. “Yes, but the bureaucrats only move with incentives or personal favours, not otherwise.” I was stumped by his answer, “There is nothing wrong with that.”
Being a child of the real Muslim League that won freedom for us, I was both shocked and sad by this attitude. My father, the Tehreek-e-Pakistan Gold Medalist, believed that corruption was a pandemic that must be fought with full force. At times I got scared when he slapped clerks or overturned desks of junior officers who demanded illegal gratification for his genuine work. Those were good days, by and large honesty prevailed, corruption was curtailed. The senior officers provided relief to the public. In his later years when he lost his physical strength, he used the power of pen and law. He went down fighting till the end. When I took over from where he had left, there were about 20 court cases mainly covering executive abuse.
Today, the entire bureaucracy in Punjab has been rendered non-functional. Conflict of interest, personal benefits, gratification has become a way of life. There is a Persian saying ” Uzar az gunah badtar az gunah ” (The means for a sin is worse than the sin). No wonder this ‘Sharif Bureaucracy’ in Punjab does not move. Merit is a virtue of the past.
All brands of Muslim Leagues are the biggest farce of our times. While the members of All India Muslim League (AIML) built the new land, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) has destroyed it. What used to be a sin, has now become a virtue for these ‘Nouveau Leaguers’. Yes, in the private sector incentives are provided for good performance but not under the table or against the public interest.
There is a clear divide between incentive and corruption, and by and large merit must prevail. Accountability has to be built in. No wonder, convictions are not taking place as the rules of the game have changed. The bar, bench and the executive have all teamed up for individual gains. If the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has to be saved then this ‘ Corruption Pandemic’ has to be confronted with full force, like the founding fathers did.
After getting rid of the ‘Sharif Dirty Laundry’ some fresh recruitment in senior positions may be required through lateral entry, strictly on open merit. The Bureaucracy has to follow rules and regulations with utmost honesty and neutrality in the best interests of the state. It is time to go after the menace of ‘Sharif Bureaucracy’ for merit to prevail in the land of the pure, as it used to be.
Now that the coronavirus pandemic’ is almost over, the NCOC (National Command and Operation Centre) should be tasked to go after the even deadlier ‘corruption pandemic’. A slight change of team may be required. Dr Faisal Sultan, the force behind the successful fight against the coronavirus can return to Shaukat Khanum where he is needed, while a Management Guru could replace him in the new crusade. Recently, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Punjab issued an advertisement to report cases of ‘chai panni Corruption which is rampant, but I think the ailment is much beyond that. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), ACE, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have all failed to contain this pandemic that threatens our very existence.
The bureaucracy has now been commercialized, the rule being ‘No payment no service’. The public is made to suffer. Every time a senior officer is approached for relief the standard answer is “File a writ in the High Court”. Half of the civil litigation originates from ‘Executive Abuse’ together with a very high financial and time toll.
I think beating and punching as practised by my father was more effective in controlling this high handedness. Years later, after I had settled all my father’s court cases, we received a notice from the Lahore High Court (LHC) in the name of my old man.
Luckily his friend and a senior lawyer, Malik Akbar, was still alive. I approached Malik Sahib to find out the details of the case which came up for hearing after a decade. While he briefed me about the writ, he advised me to let it pass. The case originated from an information about property tax evaluation of our family house in Shadman. While the land size of our and the house next door was the same, their building size was double while the tax was half. The department refused to provide any justification as they claimed it was their sole discretion. Dissatisfied with the reply a writ was filed in the LHC. Over the years with his battles against corrupt practices, he had developed legal acumen to prepare his own cases.
Malik Akbar just presented them in the court. On refusal of Malik Sahib, I decided to appear myself. The court gave a patient hearing and agreed with my father’s contention that the taxpayer had the right to know the basis of property evaluation. It was his victory for the people of the new land for which he had struggled.
A massive operation clean-up has to be launched against the ‘Sharif Bureaucracy’ to weed out this ‘Corruption Pandemic’. Omer Rasool, the current Director General of the Civil Services Academy, is doing his best to highlight the oath that every graduating civil servant has to take but what will come of them when they report to their tainted seniors?
A re-chartered NCOC must go over all the cases of out-of-turn promotions, the blue-eyed bureaucrats who enjoyed perks and power much beyond their stipulated allocation. Most of them are still holding important, powerful positions both in Punjab and Islamabad and continue to deny genuine relief to the public.
After getting rid of the ‘Sharif Dirty Laundry’ some fresh recruitment in senior positions may be required through lateral entry, strictly on open merit. The Bureaucracy has to follow rules and regulations with utmost honesty and neutrality in the best interests of the state. It is time to go after the menace of ‘Sharif Bureaucracy’ for merit to prevail in the land of the pure, as it used to be.
