Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said in Lahore that it would be a collective failure if citizens lost faith in the state, stopped trusting the system or came to feel they had no future in the country.
Speaking at a meeting with administrative service officers from Sindh, she said that a weakening bond between citizens and the state, or declining confidence in the country’s institutions, would point to a shortcoming on the part of both the government and society.
Governance and service delivery remain the priority
Maryam said her main focus was on governance and delivering services to the public. She urged the government to reach out to citizens. “The government should reach out to citizens to fulfil their needs and strengthen their bond with the state,” she said.
She added that many people assume running a government is easy, but the chief minister’s post carries many difficulties. “The chief minister’s chair is not a bed of roses,” she said. On days when governance did not improve, she said, she felt the day had been wasted.
Punctuality and complaints about delayed meetings
The chief minister said even members of her own cabinet had sometimes kept people waiting for hours, which she said showed the need for punctuality and efficiency in public administration. Recalling earlier practice, she said meetings scheduled for 10am often did not begin until after 12:30pm.
She insisted that none of her own meetings had been delayed and that she did not keep people waiting. “If I have to reach somewhere at 10am, I arrive at 9:55am,” she said.
Maryam also said that handling party affairs was harder for her than running the government. She added that she received more criticism than praise, but said she did not let it affect her work.
Merit-based appointments and the problem of recommendations
Stressing the importance of merit in public postings, the chief minister said she had not appointed any officer on the basis of a personal recommendation. She criticised the use of personal connections to secure jobs, saying it was unfair to candidates who qualified on merit.
“If someone gets appointed through a recommendation, how unfair is that to those who deserve the position on merit?” she asked. Maryam said that whenever someone recommended a candidate for an interview, she immediately struck that person’s name off the list. She said this reflected her commitment to merit-based appointments and better governance.
