ABSTRACT

This entry attempts to throw light on the policy making and implementation process in Pakistan. In doing so, it analyzes the peculiar context of the country including colonial history, geography, and identity. It explains the role of four institutions constituting the state in Pakistan: the legislature, public administration, the judiciary, and the military. It identifies that public policy and administration in Pakistan is strongly influenced by the governance model, objectives, traditions, and civil and military bureaucracies—the heritage of British colonialism. In a global capitalist world, policy making has largely ignored the needs of the masses, and is directed at serving the interests of the ruling elite and of foreign powers; while policy implementation is carried out by civil bureaucracy that is designed to rule the masses and not to serve them.