LAHORE: To enhance the civil-military cooperation and national security awareness, the Civil Services Academy, after military officers induction in civil services and their attachments in civil institutions, has started the military attachment programme for probationary officers inducted through the Central Superior Services (CSS).
The programme, which had been suspended for the past few years, now forms an integral part of the Common Training Programme for the 52nd batch of officers.
This marks a crucial development in Pakistan’s governance training, especially as the nation faces evolving internal security challenges under the ongoing Operation Fitna-tul-Khawarij, a major operation targeting extremist and insurgent elements.
This essential component of foundational training aims to bridge the gap between civil and military institutions, offering participants a unique opportunity to engage with national security, governance, and operational frameworks. Particularly impactful for officers from Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service of Pakistan, Foreign Service of Pakistan, Military Lands and Cantonments Group , and Pakistan Customs Service due to the alignment with their professional domains, the programme also emphasises real-world challenges such as crisis management, flood response, and disaster preparedness.
Through hands-on exposure and collaborative learning, it enhances inter-institutional understanding and strengthens the capacity of future leaders to navigate complex administrative and emergency scenarios effectively.
This year, the Civil Services Academy took a bold and timely step by reinstating the military attachment programme for probationary officers—a tradition that once defined the Common Training Programme during its early years in the 1980s.
This move is not simply a nod to the past; it is a clear-eyed recognition of the challenges facing Pakistan’s governance and security framework today.
Originally introduced to foster mutual understanding between civil servants and the military, the programme had quietly faded away over the years. Its revival now comes at a moment when the need for inter-institutional synergy could not be more critical. Pakistan stands at the crossroads of internal instability, regional turbulence, and the ever-expanding scope of hybrid threats—from insurgency and terrorism to information warfare. In such an environment, governance cannot function in silos.
“This is not just the revival of an old tradition, it is a conscious response to the contemporary governance and security challenges we face. The 12-week attachment programme, running from April 7 to June 27, 2025, brings together 231 probationary officers from 12 occupational groups, including Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service of Pakistan, Foreign Service of Pakistan, Inland Revenue Service, Pakistan Customs Service, Office Management Group, Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, Military Lands and Cantonments Group, Postal Group, Information Service Group, and Railway Group, with 85 female officers among them,” said a senior official associated with the initiative.
And indeed, the revamped military attachment programme reflects precisely an evolved understanding of what it means to govern a country like Pakistan in the 21st century.
The new plan has been meticulously crafted in consultation with Specialised Training Institutes and military authorities. It’s not a symbolic gesture—it’s a strategic curriculum aimed at achieving four vital objectives: building institutional synergy, cultivating leadership, enhancing strategic awareness, and reinforcing national service.
This means exposing young officers to military protocols, decision-making under pressure, operational planning, and crisis management. It also means grounding them in the realities of Pakistan’s internal security by placing them in actual field environments—including some of the most challenging operational regions in the country.
—More than just shadowing soldiers, these officers will visit institutions like the National Defence University, General Headquarters, and forward-operating bases. They will see, firsthand, the strategic planning and sacrifices that underpin national defence. And just as crucially, they will engage in community service projects within military cantonments under the Civil Services Academy’s guiding philosophy of Khidmat-un-Naas (service to the people)—emphasising that patriotism is not just about the battlefield; it’s about building stronger communities too.
The context surrounding this initiative makes it all the more urgent. Operation Fitna-tul-Khawarij—a nationwide campaign to neutralise extremist threats—has underscored the importance of unity across civil and military institutions.
For officers from the Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service of Pakistan, and Foreign Service of Pakistan, the attachment programme will serve as a crucial bridge—offering a lens into the operational, strategic, and human challenges our security institutions face every day.
That lens will help shape better policy, tighter coordination, and a stronger national response to crises.
Equally important is the long-term value this programme creates. It seeds networks of mutual trust and respect between future civil and military leaders—relationships that can prove vital in moments of national emergency, whether due to conflict, disaster, or systemic breakdowns.
When government systems are stressed, what holds a nation together is not only institutional strength, but institutional collaboration.
The return of the military attachment programme is, therefore, much more than a training module.
It is an investment in a new generation of public leaders who are as comfortable drafting policy as they are understanding the operational realities that shape that policy. It signals a shift toward a whole-of-nation approach to governance—where strategic alignment, not institutional silos, defines national resilience.
At a time when Pakistan’s challenges are increasingly interconnected—where domestic instability, regional tensions, and global disruptions collide—the only path forward is one of unity.
By equipping our future civil servants with the insight, discipline, and perspective that military exposure brings, we are preparing them not just to govern, but to lead. That is a step worth applauding—and one that could not have come at a more necessary time.