Under the chairmanship of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, the 15th meeting of the Civil Service Reforms Committee was convened today. The meeting focused on key agenda items, including the recruitment, training, institutional restructuring, remuneration, and performance management system for civil servants with special focus on reviewing parameters of performance measurement within the civil service.
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Dr. Musaddaq Malik and Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo participated in the meeting.
Senior officers from the Establishment Division, Ministry of Finance, Planning Division, EAD, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the ministries of Communication, Information and Broadcasting, Railways, Commerce, and Foreign Affairs. Representatives from the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and corporate sector were also attended the meeting.
A presentation was delivered by Jamal Nasir, Chief Human Resources Officer at HBL, focusing on modernizing performance management criteria to meet the evolving demands of the 21st century. Discussions centered on themes such as effective prevailing assessment systems, the implementation of quarterly and annual reviews, the importance of employee profiling, transparency in feedback mechanisms, and performance checks at entry and exit levels.
Minister Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the need to restructure the civil service in a way that enables officers to distinguish themselves through performance rather than by initial service allocation. “A strategy must be devised to allow top talent at senior levels to compete for key positions purely on merit,” the Minister stated.
Minister Musaddaq Malik stressed the importance of introducing a pyramid system to ensure that only the top performers rise to the highest posts. “In every service group, the top position must be earned by those within the 99th percentile of performance,” he added.
Minister Iqbal further stated that performance-related KPIs must be assigned to each ministry, with clear differentiation between technical ministries and coordinating ministries, especially for subjects devolved to the provinces. He highlighted the need to shift the focus from quantitative outputs to meaningful outcomes. He proposed hiring performance auditors from the corporate sector, citing New Zealand’s successful example of using external auditors. These audits, he noted, should evaluate leadership, collaboration, and long-term vision.
The Minister also underlined the critical need to hire and retain technical professionals in ministries that require domain expertise, such as Water Resources, Petroleum, Finance, Planning, and Food Security. The Establishment Division informed the meeting that a comprehensive study had been conducted in collaboration with each ministry to assess their specific needs for technical professionals.
Minister Iqbal recalled that in 2018, the current government proposed the concept of a National Executive Service aimed at opening Grade 19 and above vacancies to competition from all service groups as well as the private sector, ensuring that top talent can be brought in at senior levels.
The committee also discussed mechanisms to evaluate the performance of officers responsible for writing the performance reports of others, ensuring accountability and fairness in appraisals.
The meeting concluded with the Minister directing that a final report be compiled, incorporating all recommendations, for presentation before the Prime Minister.
