The bureaucracy, particularly the higher civil service, has been a continuing so

urce of stability and leadership and a counterweight to political upheaval and g

overnment instability. This cadre originated in the pre-partition Indian Civil S
ervice, whose members were well educated, well trained, and dedicated to a tradi
tion of efficiency and responsibility. In time, the British recruited indigenous
people, who were among India 's best and brightest, into the Indian Civil Servi
ce ranks.
At partition, out of more than 1,100 Indian Civil Service officers, scarcely 100
were Muslims, and eighty-three of them opted to go to Pakistan . Because none o
f them held a senior rank equivalent to that of a secretary (and administrators
were urgently needed to staff senior posts in the new state), this initial group
was augmented by quick promotions in the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) throug
h ad hoc appointments from other services and through retention, for a time, of
some British officers. The CSP prided itself on being the backbone of the nation
, the "steel frame" as it was sometimes called, and played a key role in Pakista
n 's survival in the difficult years following independence. Although Jinnah com
mended its contribution, he also warned CSP cadres to stay out of politics and t
o discharge their duties as public servants. After Jinnah's death, however, in t
he subsequent absence of strong political leadership, members of the CSP assumed
an extraordinary role in the country's policy-making process. When the CSP was
disbanded in 1973 and the various services were amalgamated into one administrat
ive system, the expertise of its former members was much valued, and they contin
ued to hold critical positions in the country's administrative apparatus through
subsequent transitions in government.
Men and women of all occupational groups today are working for the land of the p
ure and doing their utmost to bring a positive change in all the sectors of nati
onal economy and governmental working.