‘Anthropologizing Bureaucracy in Pakistan: A Practitioner’s Perspective’
Bureaucracy in Pakistan needs to be seen outside the pessimistic perspective: Syed Abu Ahmad Akif
To understand things differently, it is critical to change the perspective and raise the right questions, said Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, former federal secretary and member, IPS’ National Academic Council, in a lecture on ‘Anthropologizing Bureaucracy in Pakistan: A Practitioner’s Perspective’, delivered at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Bahria University, Islamabad Campus, on June 16, 2023.
What ensures one’s understanding, choices, and opportunities depends largely on perspective and value thinking, he viewed. When seen negatively, bureaucracy, as a system of governance, fosters a negative sense of connection and limits the admission of what people may achieve. As people are the product of their thinking, things change when seen from different a perspective. Therefore, he stressed, the bureaucracy in Pakistan needs to be seen outside the pessimistic perspective.
This perspective of seeing things from an anthropological viewpoint increases the value by multiple times. For instance, it is a widespread assumption that the bureaucracy in Pakistan is politicized. While it may be true, it can be questioned differently as such asking whether politicizing is bad or not. This generates a new pattern of thoughts, Akif added, and might give answers to unanswered questions and confusions.
Even if there are no answers, one must calculate his assumptions and keep raising questions as it is a better way. Rights answers come only when right questions are raised, he concluded.
