Tale
of three Principal Secretaries
Dr. Zafar Altaf
NOW
A DAYS our bureaucrat friend Tariq Aziz, Principal Secretary to
President General Pervez Musharraf, is in the news with regard to
his ability to make and break political parties and alliances, ahead
of the general elections scheduled to be held on October 10.
Mr
Aziz, who used to play cards with his FC College Lahore friend --
Pervez Musharraf -- is now believed to be calling all the shots
in country's present political scene on behalf of his boss. Before
discussing the role of my friend Aziz, it will be better to tell
the readers what is the actual job of a principal secretary of country's
head of the government.
The
principal secretary serves the Prime Ministers and the Presidents
of this country. They are normally from the former Civil Service
of Pakistan and enjoy the total support of the boss. I have known
a few in my lifetime. I did not know Shahab, the Principal secretary
of President Ayub for a considerable time, and I am therefore unable
to comment on his performance. He stands out as an outstanding individual
for the simple reason that his content was simple. He lived modestly
and worked modestly.
In my 40-odd years on the payroll of the government I have been
interacting at the level of the principal secretary for the last
fifteen years or so. I can only debate the issues in respect of
those I know and with whom I interacted. The first time I interacted
with any one was Syed Fida Hussain. I knew him from cricket. He
was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan.
Competent he was and decision maker par excellence. There was towards
the end of the Ayub era a tussle between the senior bureaucrats
for power. Palace intrigues went on to great extent and it was suggested
openly that Ayub had lost his grip and was no longer the man he
was. Civil servants are adept at handling such situations and managed
the affairs till his own province- West Pakistan started misbehaving.
Social strife was something that could not be handled.
This
debacle led to the arrival of Yahya Khan. He was served by a troika
and the famous quote was often heard -- Pakistan is at the mercy
of the three -- Rahim [The Merciful], Karim [The Benevolent] and
Pirzada [the spiritual]. The mess up was so terrible and the appreciation
of the ground realities so naïve that the country lost out
on the political front. The junta seemed to have no idea of what
was going on in the other wing, despite the presence of Maj. Gen
Bachu Karim, an East Pakistani.
Factually
the contemporary scene has changed the old rule of the Principal
Secretary being above board. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had Ahmed
Sadik as the Principal Secretary. He had credentials that placed
him in the sound category in terms of knowledge. His experience
of Sind and of politics was immense. As District Magistrate Dadu
[District of Sindh] Nawab Kalabagh, Governor of West Pakistan, realized
immensely his political acumen and posted him to metropolis Karachi.
So when Ahmed Sadik came in this top slot he was considered very
suitable for the job. He had served at the District Level throughout
the country, having done seven districts. So his knowledge of grass
roots was unsurpassed. He certainly was the trouble shooter for
the political government of Benazir Bhutto.
Despite
the fact that she was politically very alive difficult situations
were handled by Ahmed Sadik and unless otherwise required he was
her interface with the bureaucracy. His effort was to remove all
kinds of irritants that the political system did not like. Rules
were frequently bent for the benefit of the powerful. The biggest
gainer was the khaki as they were not to be annoyed at any cost.
Even summaries that were to be initiated under the rules of business
by other ministries were undertaken by the powerful ministries.
The keeper of the rules is the top man and as the top bureaucrat
this responsibility devolves on the Principal Secretary. In fact
responsibility and authority has never been balanced in this slot.
It is power and authority all the way.
This
is the problem with power positions in Pakistan. The institutional
framework that keeps these positions in check is non-existent. The
only check that can come is through a self censorship system. The
fact that self censorship is a function of, not loyalty, but ability
to self criticize is not appreciated. Criticism is held to be disloyalty
in the system. The fact that illegal orders are followed is because
of this loyalty syndrome. It is not understood that the days of
the charge of the light brigade are over. Orders are to be understood
for what they are and in any case in civilian life these require
analysis because all things are not cut and dried.
The
next Principal Secretary was Saeed Mehdi, who had been able to dislodge
Anwar Zahid because he had a greater ability and speed in doing
and anticipating what the boss [Prime Minister] desired. He also
had the ability to know who and how much the Prime Minister’s
friends can get out of him. Therefore the ability to have them on
his side was of special concern. Education and knowledge or the
ultimate impact of the policies was not the concern of these principled
secretaries. Parochial as the Prime minister was he had special
benefits for the Kashmiri community. Punjab became the land of the
Kashmiris. The area where these Kashmiris came from, mostly, was
Gowalmandi and inner walled city. They carry a peculiar cockney
type phonetics to their conversation and they can thus be recognized.
Saeed had no pretensions to education but he had the ability to
be very convincing.
You
and I may come to the same conclusion but the means to an end are
as important as achieving the end. Occasionally in a democratic
set up one does not get the ends one wants. And that is understandable.
All rules were overboard. The organizational structure of the government
was changed at the whims of a few people. Nawaz Sharif himself,
according to his friends, was unable to focus on any issue for more
than a few seconds. His ability to study was worse that his attentiveness.
The span was exceedingly small.
In
this atmosphere all that the Principal Secretary had to do was to
please a few and forget the many. That is exactly what he did. With
a mandate from the electorate thanks to the agencies he was able
to do as he pleased. I could see the bureaucracy paying homage to
him and getting what they wanted by uttering a few words of endearment
and praise. Rules and the rights of people were non-existent. When
something had to be done against the wishes of some one whom they
knew they generally sent the Finance Minister and the Chief Minister
[brother of the Prime Minister] to the concerned individual and
the style that they used was most interesting. It was simply that
the person concerned was guilty of serious misdemeanor. A lenient
action is being proposed in view of our interest in you. The person
spoken to was extremely grateful for this consideration and concern.
So the highest configuration was using the means to keep men in
social bondage. The fact that loyalty of a nepotist kind came in
to being was obvious.
Come
to the present. It is always difficult to talk about the present
when there is such confusion in perceiving what is going on in the
present lot. But first the background and the important points for
discussing the differences. The present incumbent is not from the
erstwhile civil service. He happened to be a friend of the present
president, having studied at the same college but more importantly
having played bridge together. Besides this he is also, I suspect
, the keeper of his income tax record. So the roots of loyalty are
deep and ever strong.
With
the coming of the army in politics there has been a shift in organizational
structure. The present secretariat of the President is very heavily
staffed. The number of senior officers is indeed mind boggling.
The functional work that used to be done by the civil staff is now
being done by the military staff. That leaves much less to be done
at the level of the Principal Secretary. That would leave him free
to do other work.
News
is now trickling down that the work is of a political nature. He
has been at the forefront of creating dissentions and regrouping
the right wing political party. News is also coming that he has
been saving persons who might become beneficiaries of the current
political system. Loyalty and the growing menace of the top elites
is one of the main problems of the current lot. As so often those
living in seclusion tend to exclude the masses. All of a sudden
the dilemma seems to be that every one who had been of no consequence
seems to acquire assets and to guide those that are in close contact
with them to do the same.
That
is in the nature of things. But who will worry about those who are
unable to eke out a meal a day? Who will worry about those that
are unable to fend for themselves? The entire jing bang lot belongs
to the category of those that want to acquire asset without work
and they have been able to get to the top.
Can
Pakistan do without loyalty of this kind? Can Pakistan feel proud
of such people as can stand up for their rights? Can Pakistan Can?
It will depend on the people that can sacrifice their conveniences
and their safety for the rights of others. The principled principal
secretaries at one time used to do so. Not so any more. The ability
to see worth in people other then their coterie is essential for
that to happen.
A good
country gone waste? Not quite. But likelihood is always their. They
could have made such a difference but they have not. The card playing
principal secretary still has a chance. Bridge is such an analytical
game. Use it for the better next of the country and for all of us
to stand by the right and the just. Servility all round is of no
use. I am no preacher and I am no poacher. May Allah bless this
land and save it from liars and cheats and inconsequential persons
and their acts. Principal Secretaries as of no consequence! What
a pass.
But, the troubling question is that why did the two former principal
secretaries to the prime ministers, Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, land
in jail soon after their governments were dismissed and what is
in store for our friend Aziz after the October elections?
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