Wednesday, 26 January, 2022 I 22 Jamadi-al-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 208 I 14 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Pakistan slides 16 sPots, ranks 140th on CPi g
In TI's CorrupTIon perCepTIon Index 2021, pakIsTan sCores 28 ouT of 100
ISLAMABAD
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staff report
He absence of a central agency to coordinate action against corruption was a core factor in driving pakistan to its lowest in recent years on a global perceived corruption index in 2020, watchdog Transparency International said on Tuesday. The group’s annual report on business leaders’ perceptions of corruption — which gave pakistan a score of 28 out of 100, down from 31 in 2020 — also cited the “failure” of the state to uphold rights and consult citizens. That put pakistan, at 140, behind India in 85th place, while Bangladesh stood at 147 with a Corruption perceptions Index (CpI) of 26. The 2021 index ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index assigns scores of between one and 100, one being highly corrupt and 100 clean. The score is derived from a range of 13 sources measuring corruption perceived by
experts and business executives. It measures the use of public office for private gain, nepotism, bribery, the diversion of public money and state capture. The score is also a reflection of the strength of integrity and anti-corruption systems, including “the existence of adequate laws on financial disclosure, conflict of interest prevention and access to information”. Transparency trumpets the CpI as “the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide”. But the high-profile and widely reported index has amassed its fair share of critics over the last two decades. a Guardian report attacked the CpI’s reliance on the opinions of a small group of experts and business people. “This embeds a powerful and misleading elite bias in popular perceptions of corruption and can lead to inappropriate policy responses,” it said. pakistan is among two-thirds of nations across the world that are either stagnating or showing signs of deterioration in their anti-corruption efforts. under the government of pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (pTI), which came to power on an anti-corruption platform, pakistan’s
ranking has gradually slid. In 2019, it was 120 out of 180 nations, 124 in the following year, and in 2021, it slipped further to 140. In contrast, in 2018, the last year of the pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (pML-n) government, the rating stood at 117 out of 180 governments. Commenting on the report, the vice chairperson of the Berlin-based agency’s pakistan chapter, retired Justice nasira Javed Iqbal, observed there was no change in CpI scores of India and Bangladesh from 2020. The top performers in the asia pacific are new Zealand (88), singapore (85) and Hong kong (76). However, most countries sit firmly below the global average of 43. This includes three countries — Cambodia (23), afghanistan (16) and north korea (16) — with some of the lowest scores in the world. “While countries in the asia pacific have made great strides in controlling bribery for public services, an average score of 45 out of 100 on the 2021 CpI shows much more needs to be done to solve the region’s corruption problems,” a Transparency report said. The government is also battling to improve the regulations to avert being blacklisted by the global financial body, the financial action Task force (faTf), in what could be a bitter blow to an economy already beset by a weakening currency, rising inflation and slower growth. Many have urged the state Bank of pakistan (sBp) to push banks to improve antimoney laundering systems and information sharing across the sector. RESIGNATION OF GOVT SOUGHT: Commenting on the contents of the report, pML-n president shehbaz sharif declared Transparency International testified for the second time the pTI government “has broken all records of corruption in the last 20 years”.
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PDM vows to take out ‘anti-inflation’ march on Pakistan Day ISLAMABAD staff report
pakistan democratic Movement (pdM) chief Maulana fazlur rehman Tuesday said the alliance had refused listen to the government’s requests and decided to moving ahead with its plan to hold an “anti-inflation” long march to Islamabad on pakistan day, March 23. The pdM chief, while speaking to the media in Islamabad after a meeting of the heads of the pdM’s component parties stated that the military parade would begin early morning and wrap up by Zuhr prayers. He stated that the pdM rally will come after “Zuhr prayers”. When asked how the pdM would enter the federal capital on March 23 as security arrangements would be tight due to the military parade and a session of the organisation of Islamic organisation (oIC), he replied: “The pdM will enter. They [the government] knew that we were staging a long march on that date. under what conspiracy did they
make such recommendations?” during his press conference, the Maulana also touched on all the things discussed during today’s meeting and came down hard on the government for its alleged failure in effectively tackling the country’s issues. He said that the pdM had rejected the recently passed finance (supplementary) Bill, generally known as the “minibudget”, and called for it to be withdrawn. He said that inflation had broken the backs of the country’s citizens and trapped the nation in a place where there was no possibility of escape. rehman claimed that the government was not cognisant of the people’s screams for help. “a ruler who can’t fulfil the responsibility of the common man or the economy has no right to remain in power.” He said that the opposition parties valued the country’s freedom and would not allow the government to trade it.
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