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Corruption is a constant in Pakistan, and all are in it. A scathing report by the IMF has simply stated the obvious by pointing out that financial malpractices are “persistent and corrosive” at every level of government. It also remarked that literally there are no reliable measures to quantify the scale of corruption. It went on to cite a recovery from corrupt proceeds to the tune of Rs5.3 trillion in two years, which goes on to confirm mass-scale skeletons in the cupboard, owing to an alliance of convenience between those who wield public authority and men in cahoots as wheelers and dealers to indulge in loot and plunder.
The global lender has no qualms in saying that “Pakistanis are regularly required to pay officials for access to services,” and at a higher level “official policies and practices have been shaped by economic and political elites to make use of public authority to enrich themselves at the cost of greater societal well-being and economic growth.” That is an indictment of all at the helm, with no civil or military dispensation spared from that slur. As a testimony, the report cited the sugar scams that come up almost every year, confirming how corrupt elites have twisted policies to their benefit.
One of the most startling revelations is the assessment from the Fund that if corruption is stemmed, Pakistan could increase its GDP from 5 to 6.5% in the next five years. For this, reforms are indispensable — something on which successive governments have failed despite being in IMF programmes for more than 24 times in the last eight decades.
The report makes a good referral to elements that have stalled growth and productivity due to corrupt practices, and prominent among them are “capture of judicial institutions, lack of fair accountability, and siphoning off of money”. The definition that the IMF has forwarded is worth introspecting: such as “abuse of authority for private gain” or a “longstanding network of public and private actors who work together to capture contracts, markets, or sometimes entire governments”. This charge-sheet warrants serious retribution in the national interest.
