ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Transparency International’s annual report on Corruption Perception Index (CPI) revealed that the corruption increased instead of decreasing in the tenure of incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Despite the PTI-led government claims of tackling corruption, Pakistan worsened on CPI 2019 and country’s ranking drops three point in single year.
According to the report of Transparency International, Pakistan’s ranking dropping to 120 out of 180 countries with a slightly worse score of 32 out of 100.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the previous year, Pakistan’s ranking stood at 117—the same as in 2017—although it’s score had slightly increased to 33.
NAB in Pakistan performed well
The report clarified that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) performed well despite of increasing corruption in the country. The anti-graft bureau recovered 153 billion rupees.
“The Transparency International Secretariat explained that in CPI 2019 many countries have not performed well this year,” Pakistan Transparency International Chairman Sohail Muzaffar to clarify Pakistan’s worsening situation in a press release issued alongside the report.
“Implying that Pakistan being perceived as more corrupt was in line with worsening views of public sector organizations globally,” Muzaffar mentioned. He also applauded the NAB’s “transformation” but did not clarify how that squared with the anti-graft watchdog being perceived as a tool for political victimization—or criticism from the higher judiciary that NAB’s faulty prosecutions were damaging the body’s own image.
According to the 2019 report, two-thirds of the countries scored below 50, with the average score being a mere 43. The country with the highest rank, Denmark, scored 87.
Most notably, said Transparency, advanced economies were seen to be sliding in the past year, with
Canada, France, the
UK and the
US all scoring lower than they had in 2018. India ranked 40, with a score of 80, which is over double
Pakistan’s score of 32.
“Frustration with government corruption and lack of trust in institutions speaks to a need for greater political integrity,” said
Delia Ferreira Rubio, chair of Transparency International. “Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems.”
“The lack of real progress against corruption in most countries is disappointing and has profound negative effects on citizens around the world,” said
Patricia Moreira, Transparency International managing director.
“To have any chance of ending corruption and improving peoples’ lives, we must tackle the relationship between politics and big money. All citizens must be represented in decision making,” she added.
The top five states – with the least amount of perceived corruption – are
Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore and
Sweden. The bottom five states are Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia.
