ALGORITHMIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: GOVERNANCE, ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE, AND LEGAL CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The increasing use of algorithmic and data-driven technologies in Pakistan's public administration, including automated tax profiling, biometric authentication, and targeted welfare delivery, raises significant accountability challenges that remain insufficiently examined in the existing literature. This article examines how Pakistan can ensure the legal accountability, transparency, explainability, and procedural fairness of automated decision-making in public administration. It adopts a doctrinal legal approach complemented by qualitative public policy analysis to examine the constitutional and administrative law framework of Pakistan, with particular reference to Articles 4, 9, 10A, 14, and 19A of the Constitution. Comparative jurisprudence from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands is used to identify legal principles relevant to the Pakistani context. The article proposes an Algorithmic Accountability Framework for Public Administration (AAFPA) comprising four mutually reinforcing dimensions of accountability: legal, administrative, technical, and democratic. The analysis finds that although Pakistan's administrative law provides a normative basis for algorithmic accountability, it lacks the procedural safeguards, institutional capacity, and statutory mechanisms necessary for effective implementation. The article concludes by recommending legislative and institutional reforms to strengthen accountability before the wider adoption of algorithmic decision-making in public administration.