KARACHI: Pakistan has continued its statistically significant downward trend, this year hitting its lowest score since 2012 at just 27 points amidst ongoing political turmoil. This has been revealed in a report released by Transparency International on Tuesday.
The report, however, states that despite the difficulties facing the region, there are many opportunities in 2023 for governments to recommit to fighting corruption. Elections in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and more can be important moments for the people to make their voices heard and to address corruption concerns that weigh so heavily on many.
The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International shows that leaders have ignored anti-corruption efforts, with levels of corruption stagnating across the region for a fourth straight year.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), among which three countries declined over this time: Malaysia (47), Mongolia (33) and Pakistan (27).
Transparency International says Prime Minister Imran Khan came to power promising to tackle rampant corruption and promote social and economic reforms, but little has been accomplished on any of these fronts since he took the reins in 2018.
After he was ousted in a no confidence vote this April, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him from running for office for another five years and filed a plea in session court for criminal proceedings over allegations he failed to declare gifts and profits he made from selling them during his tenure.
It says that Khan began a separate court case against the ECP, challenging the ECP’s jurisdiction over candidate qualification. While awaiting the verdicts from these two cases, it’s most important that the new government does not allow such political scandals to derail comprehensive anti-corruption efforts. It’s time for concrete action with a holistic and effective anti-corruption plan that addresses illicit financial flows and introduces safeguards for civic space.
