ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has described Pakistan’s bureaucracy as the country’s “real and permanent rulers,” saying politicians and other ruling classes have faced accountability over the past 78 years, while the bureaucracy has largely remained beyond scrutiny.
Sharing a post alleging financial corruption by a senior bureaucrat, Asif said there were numerous examples of politicians being held accountable in Pakistan’s history, while examples involving other ruling classes also existed. However, he said it was difficult to find comparable instances of bureaucratic accountability.
Referring to a former bureaucratic ruler, Asif said the official used highly abusive language against politicians, who tolerated his conduct. He added that if bureaucrats who served as ministers and advisers over the past 78 years were counted, their number would also be substantial.
Asif said that if the bureaucracy had now become an untouchable class with no one willing to hold it accountable, politicians and their weaknesses were ultimately responsible for the situation, while bureaucrats were merely beneficiaries of it.
He said the nationalisation policy introduced in the 1970s gave the bureaucracy control over the country’s business institutions. According to Asif, the assets taken into state control were subsequently destroyed, but successive governments failed to question the powerful and unaccountable elements responsible.
وطن عزیز کی 78 سالہ تاریخ میں سیاستدانوں کے جھوٹے سچے احتساب کی مثالیں بے شمار ملیں گی۔ باقی حکمران طبقات کی بھی آپکو چند مثالیں ضرور مل جائیں گی۔ نہیں ملیں گی تو ھماری بیوروکریسی کی نہیں ملیں گی۔ بیوروکریٹس پاکستان کے اصل اور دائمی حکمران ھیں اور رہیں گے۔ ھم نے انکو وزیر اعظم… pic.twitter.com/iaLeD0TwTD
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) August 14, 2026The defence minister claimed that if the losses caused by nationalisation were calculated, they could prove greater than the losses associated with the fall of Dhaka, adding that there might not be enough zeros to quantify the damage.
Asif said the current government was pursuing a privatisation programme and expressed hope that it would succeed.
He said Nawaz Sharif was the first ruler to successfully attempt to reverse the destruction caused by nationalisation, while Benazir Bhutto also took the process forward. However, he said the process later stalled as the “permanent rulers” in the bureaucracy created obstacles.
Asif said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was focusing on privatisation and expressed hope that the effort would prove successful.
He further claimed that wealthy individuals associated with Pakistan’s bureaucracy had assets and residences in Portugal, Canada, the United States, Britain and Pakistan, and were among those directly benefiting from politicians’ lack of foresight.
Recalling an incident involving a former governor-general, Asif said the official later suffered a stroke. When politicians visited him afterwards, he allegedly used highly abusive language, which they could not understand.
According to Asif, the governor-general’s British secretary would translate his remarks for the politicians and explain what he was actually saying.