Corruption has always been a
big problem for Pakistan and is on the rise by the day. Apparently there are
institutions like NAB, FIA and Ehtesab Bureau to curb corruption, but these have
not succeeded in their efforts.
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, “In 2010,
Pakistan stood at 34th number as compared to 42nd in 2009”.
It means it has plunged eight more points in corruption.
The irony is that before the release of the 2010’s corruption report, some high
politicians of the ruling party publicly stated that there is no corruption in
Pakistan and now the country is free from corruption.
The lack of acceptance on the part of the government is the root cause of the
problem. Any problem has to be first acknowledged to make a commitment to cope
with it, but this is not the case here.
According to the National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS) 2010 of
Transparency International, “The four top corrupt institutions are Police,
electricity, land department and education”.
The chairman of Transparency International, Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani, said
“Corruption is the root cause of poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, shortage of
electricity, food, etc. and lack of governance in Pakistan.”
Corruption is the main element and like cancer is eating up every institution of
Pakistan.
The most powerful and profit earning institutions of Pakistan such as PIA,
Pakistan Railways and Wapda are running in loss and are a burden on the nation
only because of corruption. These have been extracting desired heavy charges
from facility users, but despite that they are facing losses. Now the Haj Scam
has come to the forefront that has brought the present government at the brink
of crises.
We shouldn’t forget that corruption is the most powerful weapon that has so far
fired many governments in Pakistan, including the second government of the PPP.