Pakistan, Feb. 5 -- "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." Peter Drucker, the famed management consultant, once quipped. While Drucker was speaking of business, his words resonate uncannily with the workings of the administrative setups in South Asia - where processes, no matter how polished, often outlive their purpose.

At its core, the administrative framework in Pakistan is a relic of the British colonial apparatus. Designed to maintain control rather than uplift society, this system was designed to prioritize order over innovation. Decades after independence, it remains largely intact, with only cosmetic changes made to accommodate the growing complexities of governance. While it woul...