(Assignment 4) Ashish

Pakistan is known to have very high level of corruption. The widespread and systematic corruption is largely due to its political structure. Pakistan’s governance is largely plutocratic where the wealthy elite usually occupy the top office. Further, a weak democracy with no clear centre of power leaves the whole system unstable. Most of the affairs of the country are implicitly and explicitly managed by the army. The civilian government is extremely feeble and largely works at the pleasure of the army. In such environment there is no clarity on accountability.

Pakistan is also plagued by weak institutions. Institutions like judiciary, police and army which are supposed to protect the right of the people are themselves deeply entrenched in corruption. Various institution that have been developed in Pakistan to tackle corruption like National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have also proved to be ineffective. Lack of political will, arbitrariness of anti-corruption proceedings, lack of independence of judiciary hamper fight against corruption. Moreover, anti- corruption proceedings are largely targeted at the political rivals and civil servants. The conduct of the military is rarely scrutinised. This creates a situation of distrust in institutions.

On the social front too, Pakistan fares badly. Social tension in Pakistan is extremely high. The state attitude towards its minorities creates alienation in the society, which leads to high level of mistrust. Also, poor social indicators of Pakistan like high level of illiteracy, poverty, ethnic strife form breeding ground for corruption.

The important feature of corruption in Pakistan that needs special attention is the type of corruption that operates at different level. The most popular forms of corruption in Pakistan are graft payment and nepotism. At the lower level, mostly it’s petty corruption where there are petty bribes. For example, citizens in order to access basic services have to bribe the gatekeepers on regular basis. At the higher level, there is more grand corruption where political office is used to dispense favours to near and dear ones. This is well evident in the recent Panama papers leak where Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif children are known to have illegal offshore assets.

In an environment of unstable political and social structure, Pakistan’s relatively powerful and vocal media has played commendable role in exposing corruption. Therefore, having strong and powerful media could ensure transparency and hence can be the first step in checking corruption. However, Pakistan needs to do more. Some of the measures Pakistan can take to check corruption are: First, it could start by pushing democracy deeper in the country and ensuring that its civilian leadership doesn’t buckle under army’s pressure. This can ensure smooth functioning of the government with a clear centre of power. Second, it needs to strengthen its institutions. Strong, independent institutions can ensure stability and accountability. Third, Pakistan needs to improve its social indicators so as to prevent any breeding ground for corruption. Fourth, it needs to strengthen its anti-corruption body and give it sufficient leeway to work independently and efficiently.

Lastly, success of any of the above measure will be determined by how much people develop their trust in these institutions. Therefore, Pakistan should strive hard to regain the trust of its people.

REFERENCE

Overview of corruption in Pakistan: Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Transparency International (http://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-corruption-in-pakistan/), Viewed on 26/4/16