HBL chairman urges civil servants to 'operate on merit'

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Chairman Sultan Ali Allana called on civil servants to adopt a strict merit-first culture.

“If there’s one thing that we can do in Pakistan, and we can do it today, we can do it now, is to promise ourselves that we will only operate on a merit basis,” he said while addressing the 45th NIPA civil service qualifying batch.

“Perhaps in five years, 10 years, you will see a change,” he added.

Allana described the mid-career management course for BS-18 officers as “more than just a training programme” and “an investment in the future of public service”.

He said civil servants stand at a critical intersection between the machinery of the state and citizens who live with the consequences of how it functions, calling officers “the bridge between the two” responsible for translating authority into accountability through policy decisions, regulatory choices and service delivery.

The HBL chief argued that Pakistan’s progress depends above all on quality education for youth and merit across the system, warning that weak merit produces weak outcomes, while strong merit enables institutions to reform and nations to thrive. 

Quoting Lee Kuan Yew, he said: “A strong political leadership needs a neutral, efficient, honest civil service. Officers must be recruited and promoted completely on merit.”

He also cited Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, urging government servants to deliver “the last ounce of selfless endeavour” for the state, and called on officers to listen more, consult more, share information, remove barriers and coordinate across institutions, while giving special attention to the poor, young, marginalised and invisible.

Concluding, he said trust is built when citizens believe rules are the same for everyone, and urged officers to serve with integrity, humility and courage.