PM Shehbaz warns federal ministries over delayed directives and lack of follow-up

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has issued a warning to federal secretaries and heads of departments following severe delays and negligence in executing his official directives.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) dispatched instructions to 41 federal secretaries and department chiefs, citing a lax approach by a federal ministry that disrupted government operations.

While the official correspondence did not name the specific ministry, according to the reports, the action stems from unauthorized alterations made to betel nut import regulations by officials in the Department of Plant Protection, an entity under the Ministry of National Food Security. A notification released on October 17, 2025, differed significantly from the draft approved by the food ministry in September 2025.

Officials also cited mishandled communications with trade partners in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Although the betel nut issue stands resolved, the fallout triggered systemic scrutiny.

The notification from the PMO highlights that the concerned ministry failed to exercise required due diligence. Sharif noted that the failure “dampened the government’s sustained efforts to strengthen governance and ensure prompt, result-oriented decision-making on important issues of public interest.”

The PMO added that the ministry focused solely on completing tasks as a procedural formality rather than fulfilling intended policy outcomes, leading to avoidable delays and regulatory complexities.

The administrative crackdown follows recent public remarks by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who stated that the “Government system has collapsed” and argued that extended working hours by the PM alone would not yield results.

Addressing systemic flaws, the PMO emphasised that civil servants must avoid shifting responsibilities during inter-ministerial consultations and instead build genuine consensus to resolve public interest matters.

To enforce the standards, PMO instructed all federal secretaries to ensure timely execution, rigorous follow-up, and clear inter-ministerial coordination on all policy directions. The directive explicitly requires senior civil servants to demonstrate initiative, analytical rigour, and high-quality implementation to achieve targeted sectoral outcomes.