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NEW JERSEY, DEC 10 - If Transparency International's (TI) most
recent survey of corruption in countries is any indicator of
where Pakistan is headed to, the situation appears to be one
short distance from dire strait.
The report was released on the International Anti-Corruption
Day on Saturday - the same day the army, which also manages
by proxy the country's "National Accountability Bureau",
displayed its achievements on Karachi's popular boardwalk,
even though "a majority of people (60 percent) are
dissatisfied with the government’s anti-corruption efforts."
Pakistan's ranking in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) this
year has plummeted to 142nd, while news reports say it's economy will
add another year of over 6% growth for the fourth year in a
row.
There is a sharp fall in poverty of 5%-10%, and, inflation
is in single digits and falling, from a spike of over 10% to
7.5% or less, if the Country Director of World Bank for
Pakistan, John W Wall is to be believed.
But corruption has increased, according to the survey. The
"black albeit informal economy" has grown bigger,
we all know that - and the
situation is still dismal in spite of seven years of effort by
"National Accountability Bureau" to reduce, if not eliminate
corruption.
The "National Accountability Bureau" is managed by
ex-military personnel, but "in 2004, the country fell to
129th spot from 92nd in 2003. It was ranked 87th in 1999,
when Gen Musharraf overthrew the civilian government of
prime minister Nawaz Sharif and sent him overseas on a
10-year exile.
Here is another jab to the
belly:
Most of the South Asian countries fared much better than
Pakistan, with Bhutan ranked 32nd, India 70th, Sri Lanka
84th and Nepal 121st.
India, says the report, showed the greatest improvement in the region by
jumping 18 spots from last year’s position!
So much for "Accountability", "Enlightened Moderation" and
"War against Extremism and Terrorism".
While the survey churned out some interesting factoids, it
also highlighted an important element of nation's mass
opinion which may be undermining Musharraf's quixotic quest
for enlightened moderation and calls to reject religious
parties at the next polls.
TI found the police to be the most corrupt department in the
country, closely followed by political parties, parliament,
tax and registry services, all having the same scores - but
the religious bodies were graded as the least corrupt.
If the religious bodies are perceived by the nation to be
less corrupted, does that mean they have a better chance to
influence the polls next year?
"Not so," says an ex-serviceman Pakistani-American who wants
to remain anonymous.
"Polls are managed," he added.
Here's the bright side: The country’s ranking is slightly
better than Sudan and Haiti in addition to Bangladesh, even
though it is much worse than Nigeria, Rawanda and Burundi.
Bangladesh at 156th was the only South Asian country placed
below Pakistan. |
