PTI govt rejects corruption report, terms it ‘biased'

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday rejected the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019 report released a day earlier by the Transparency International (TI).

Pakistan was ranked 120 out of 180 countries on the report by TI, an international non-governmental organization based in Berlin.

Talking to the media in Islamabad on Friday afternoon, Awan said that the report was “biased” and "not free and fair", alleging that there had been more corruption in Pakistan during the government of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

"There is a long history of corruption in Sindh. The government of former premier Nawaz Sharif gave undue benefits to the chief of the group here in Pakistan," the assistant to the PM alleged.

"Who will accept the Transparency International report?" Awan asked, noting that the government of Sharif had even given a diplomatic posting to the chief of TI Pakistan in order to gain undue favors.

She said giving clean chits to those whose corruption cases are pending before the courts clearly indicates the nexus between these elements and Pakistan chapter of Transparency International.

She said the report itself raises question on the transparency and credibility of the institution.

The SAPM said PTI government is committed to free the country of corruption and all the corrupt practices.

She said Prime Minister Imran Khan has never compromised in the fight against corruption and never will he do so in future.

The special assistant also reminded that unprecedented recoveries were made from the corrupt elements over the last one year.

“These recoveries are more than the ones made during the last ten years.”

Damning report

According the latest CPI report, corruption in Pakistan increased in 2019 as against 2018.

Scoring 32 on the CPI in 2019, Pakistan not only fell one point below the 2018 score of 33, but also dropped three stages in the world ranking from the previous 117th to the latest 120th among 180 countries.

It means that Pakistan, which was previously 63rd most corrupt country, is now 60th most corrupt nation. This is also the first time in ten years that Pakistan registered a decrease in their CPI score.

"Pakistan has been consistently improving its position against corruption for the last 10 years but 2019 -- the first complete year of Imran Khan government -- proved to be disappointment for being more corrupt than before."