On Thursday, January 29^th, 2026, Mr. Shoaib Dastgir, Former Inspector General of Police and Federal Secretary, delivered a lecture on Public Policy Formulation and Implementation to the participants of the 39^th Senior Management Course (SMC) at the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Lahore.

Mr. Dastgir explained that public policy represents a response by the state and its institutions to perceived needs within society. He highlighted that there is no universally agreed upon definition of public policy, due to overlapping perspectives across economics, behavioural sciences, and public administration. He stressed that policy-making is inherently political in nature and that choices about problems, priorities, and solutions reflect power relations and value judgments rather than purely technical reasoning.

Using case studies of the Basant festival and the Police Khidmat Markaz, Mr. Dastgir illustrated Mark Moore’s Strategic Triangle, linking public value, operational capacity, and political legitimacy. He introduced the concept of the policy paradox, where solutions often precede a clear understanding of problems, leading to misaligned outcomes. He emphasised that implementation frequently determines policy success more than policy content itself.

Mr. Dastgir also examined how policy burdens influence not only the distribution of benefits but also citizens’ civic engagement and political participation. He discussed learning, compliance, and psychological costs faced by citizens, alongside the critical role of financial resources, organisational capacity, and administrative expertise in effective policy delivery.

The session concluded with an extensive Q&A session.