Summary Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says bureaucracy remained beyond accountability in Pakistan, arguing politicians’ incompetence and divisions gave bureaucrats space to exercise power.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that bureaucracy in Pakistan has remained the only segment of the ruling elite that stayed protected from accountability and beyond legal scrutiny.
In a statement on X, Khawaja Asif said every segment of Pakistan’s ruling elite had paid a price for its actions at some point. He said members of the ruling elite had faced action over various allegations, including corruption and mismanagement, but bureaucracy remained protected from accountability and difficult to hold responsible.
In Pakistan, every segment of the ruling elite has paid the price for its actions, justifiably or unjustifiably, whether for corruption, misrule, etc. Only the bureaucracy has remained unscathed and untouchable.
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) August 30, 2026
Pakistanis hardly realize that we have had rulers who were… https://t.co/dmbiDmwY1L
Khawaja Asif said Pakistanis perhaps rarely realise that bureaucrats have also ruled the country. He pointed out that former Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad was a bureaucrat, while former Prime Minister Muhammad Ali was also a bureaucrat.
He added that former presidents Iskander Mirza and Ghulam Ishaq Khan were also bureaucrats, noting that all of this took place at a time when, apparently, political leaders were in power.
The defence minister said bureaucrats were not held responsible, adding that the incompetence and mutual differences of politicians had created space for the bureaucracy.
Khawaja Asif further said that if politicians corrected themselves, reform and accountability would automatically emerge within the bureaucracy as well.
