Civil Service of Pakistan

The Central Superior Services (denoted as CSS; or Bureaucracy) is an elite permanent bureaucratic authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the civilian bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of Pakistan.

The civil service defined itself as "key wheels on which the entire engine of the state has to move." Derived from the colonial legacy of the former Indian Civil Service, the civil service came into its modern formation immediately after the establishment of Pakistan as a "Civil Service of Pakistan." During its time of formation, the bureaucracy produced Ghulam Ishaq Khan who would go on to become the President of Pakistan. It had influence on many of the state's defence, internal, foreign and financial policies. In 1971, it was re-organized and reestablished under "Chapter I: Part-XII, Article 240" of the Constitution of Pakistan which gave it foundation and constitutional status. The civil bureaucracy closely collaborated with the military establishment of Pakistani Armed Forces in issues concerning the national security. The bureaucracy consists of 12 directorates that provide vital office and secretariat related duties to the Government of Pakistan.

The Civil Service of Pakistan selects only 7.5% of the applicants by , education, qualification and experience while the 92.5% are selected by a quota system. The civil service exams are competitive and provides equal opportunities to males and females, depending on their qualifications. The CSS Examinations are held at the start of every year. The exams are conducted and supervised by the Federal Public Service Commission. CSS exams have a reputation of a very low pass percentage, in 2015, only 3% of the 12,176 participants cleared the multi-staged exam.

The Constitution of Pakistan lays down separate services for the central government and the provincial governments. Although, both types of the governments are required to regulate their civil services through the "Article 240 of Chapter I of Part XII", in case of the central reservation of the government and by the provisional assembly decrees for officers subjected in legislative list of the provinces. The idea of civil service was established by the British Empire during the colonial period of the British Indian Empire. It was derived into as "Pakistan Civil Service" in 1947 and reorganised and re-established into its modern form in 1973. The Constitution of Pakistan describes the constitutional status as below:

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