Present PML-N govt least corrupt: TI

ISLAMABAD: Not even a single corruption case has been made against General Musharraf and his regime despite the Berlin-based global watchdog, Transparency International’s annual score of the last 15 years showing the dictator’s term as the most corrupt.
The Transparency International, which publishes the annual Global Corruption Barometer and Corruption Perception Index to give a comparative listing of corruption worldwide, shows Musharraf’s tenure even more corrupt even than the last tenure of PPP.
However, it is the present PML-N government that has shown the best results for 2013 and 2014 for Pakistan ever since the launch of the TI Global Corruption report in 1996.
If the Transparency International’s corruption index is considered since 1996, when Benazir Bhutto’s was ruling and Islamabad was first evaluated by the Transparency in its global report, the 1996 regime has been the worst with 10 out of 100 (or 1/10) score.
But later the lowest score of 21 out of 100 (2.1/10) was registered during 2004 and 2005 when General Musharraf ruled the country.
Although, the last PPP government is generally dubbed as the most corrupt in the history of Pakistan, the TI annual report shows that the lowest score during the last PPP regime has been 24 out of 100 (2.4/10) in 2009 as against 21 during Musharraf’s rule. It means that the last PPP tenure’s lowest score is three points better than Musharraf’s lowest score.
The TI annual reports of the last 19 years shows Pakistan scoring 10/100 in 1996; 25/100 in 1997; 27/100 in 1998; 22/100 in 1999; there has been no report in 2000; 23/100 in 2001; 26/100 in 2002; 25/100 in 2003; 21/100 in 2004; 21/100 in 2005; 22/100 in 2006; 24/100 in 2007; 25/100 in 2008; 24/100 in 2009; 23/100 in 2010; 25/100 in 2011; 27/100 in 2012; 28/100 in 2013; and 29/100 in 2014.
It is interesting to note that NAB, FIA and even Rangers operation against the corrupt though focuses on civilian governments, conveniently ignores mega corruption cases and wrongs of General Pervez Musharraf’s nine-year rule.
Hardly any of the major financial scandals and corruption cases involving hundreds of billions of rupees of Musharraf’s nine-year rule has been reflected in the recent NAB report presented before the Supreme Court.
Almost every key political leader including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, ex-prime ministers, etc, have been presented as accused in different cases pending for over a decade yet there is no mention of Musharraf or any of his key aides and ministers.
The civilian officers and politicians are asked questions about doling out government lands to favourites but a blind eye has been turned to General Pervez Musharraf, who had illegally allotted over 10,000 acres of military land (meant for martyred families) as political bribe or to his blue-eyed men, including staff members.
From 2005 Stock Exchange swindle to the Pakistan Steels Mills privatisation; 2006 sugar scam to the financial bungling in multi-billion rupee clean drinking water project; alleged kickbacks in defence procurement, including PAF surveillance aircraft deal to the doling out of military land to JUI-F leaders and his (Musharraf’s) personal staff; massive corruption in 2005 earthquake funds to ghost pension scandal; controversial sale of Pakistan’s property in Jakarta to changes in the Islamabad’s master plan for financial benefits of Musharraf’s chief of staff to the innumerable cases of illegal and unconstitutional appointments made by the dictator, almost everything has been missed by the NAB.
Musharraf, who during his rule became a billionaire with assets within the country and abroad, has never been questioned while the NAB has been quick to make references about the key political leaders’ assets.