This thesis contributes to the literature on the politics of bureaucracy. I show how politicised bureaucratic appointments in Pakistan 'get things done' even beyond the career advancement of a particular patron and her bureaucratic appointee. In order to show this, I trace the politicised appointment of senior and mid-tier bureaucrats by political and bureaucratic patrons using legal, extra-legal, and illegal methods in pursuit of three types of outcomes: (i) bureaucratic efficiency; (ii) electoral gain; and (iii) personal enrichment and protection. I contend that particular combinations of actor 'objectives' and 'methods' result in particular types of bonds - either strong or diffuse - between the patron and the appointed bureaucrat. It is, in turn, the interaction of these three variables (objective, method, bond) that determines whether or not the patron achieves the outcome she wanted, i.e. 'what gets done'. This thesis contributes to the literature on the politics of bureaucracy. I show how politicised bureaucratic appointments in Pakistan 'get things done' even beyond the career advancement of a particular patron and her bureaucratic appointee. In order to show this, I trace the politicised appointment of senior and mid-tier bureaucrats by political and bureaucratic patrons using legal, extra-legal, and illegal methods in pursuit of three types of outcomes: (i) bureaucratic efficiency; (ii) electoral gain; and (iii) personal enrichment and protection. I contend that particular combinations of actor 'objectives' and 'methods' result in particular types of bonds - either strong or diffuse - between the patron and the appointed bureaucrat. It is, in turn, the interaction of these three variables (objective, method, bond) that determines whether or not the patron achieves the outcome she wanted, i.e. 'what gets done'.