Malik M Aslam Awan
INDIAN Civil Service is the prime institution from which the idea of Central Superior Services has been derived and adopted to bequeath the country an intelligent, devoted, dedicated, sincere, patriotic chain of civil servants, having unprecedented characteristics to deliver to the nation. In the early days of the Federal Public Service Commission some renowned Ex-Generals such as General Attiq-ur-Rehman and other talented and honest persons were appointed as Chairman of FPSC and same was the case in PPSC.
Talented and God gifted candidates were selected for different key posts and as they grew up to the executive and decision making positions they served the country in a memorable and dedicated way. The foregoing scenario continued not for long. With the start of second generation moral and ethical values gone to oblivion and the concept of speedy progress to overlap the society and attain fabulous wealth – in fair or foul way – grew up vehemently.
Some disgruntled segments of society, shorn of religious values and ethical norms, having the incessant lust for wealth and power came to the front and they, with nefarious designs, adopted stigmatic tactics to let the intelligent and meritorious candidates lag behind and to further their condemned motives the higher echelon of FPSC and PPSC made cordial handshake with them and resultantly under-merited persons were selected to decide the nation’s fate. Undeserving clique coming to top positions made their foothold stronger and supported their off springs to step in their positions. Today the third generation of the same unmerited clique has made their stranglehold more clinching on the throat of the country and sapping the blood of the nation in a desperate bid to make the economy of the nation more and much weaker.
It is due to their maligned efforts that – despite being a nuclear nation – we are still standing sprawling our bowl to get some coins from the affluent nations and IMF, World Bank, ADB and other world institutions, to run the state affairs. It is astonishing to believe that Pakistan has meager resources to depend and continue its existence. Due to unfettered plundering the country’s resources have seen utter deplete and now we are paying 3500 billion rupees as mark up on the borrowed money.
CSS candidates are now cramming parrots and without getting imbibed the true spirit of knowledge manage to get themselves passed and elevated to the highest positions, which they did not deserve and don’t have the capability to deliver. They can deliver well only to cater to the un-replenished thirst of wealth which they harboured and inherited from their predecessors. That is why the Civil Servants have become stooges in the hands of politicians, who elevate them to the lucrative positions, not to serve but to govern and swallow the public exchequer ruthlessly. Politicians are now so shrewd and cunning that one cannot expect even an iota of shame to shirk the obnoxious practice of looting and causing havoc to the public exchequer.
It is worth mentioning that talented and gifted youth have played a pivotal role in the struggle of PTI, with the hope that as soon the PTI would assume power, they will see a totally changed horizon and the sheer change will be ushered in, to change their fortune and they will benefit out of their skills and observing the merit will be the sole parameter/criteria for impartial selection. I personally witnessed that the youth were too enthusiastic over the victory of PTI because they dreamt of their bright future in the enthronement of Imran Khan. With the passage of time their dreams could not be materialized and now they are in the state of bewilderment. Now they are standing at the cross roads being astonished what would be their future in the country, which came into being in the name of Islam but Islamic Principles are flouted fearlessly.
—The writer is a freelance columnist and independent analyst based in Lahore.
