Transparency International, a global corruption monitor, has ranked Pakistan 140th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2021, dealing a setback to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s accountability narrative.
About a year ago, in a survey, conducted by the scholars of a forging university with reference to democracy, rule of law, economic condition, human rights, etc., of 124 countries, Pakistan stood at 117th position.
The CPI is a global watchdog index that rates countries “based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as judged by expert assessments and opinion surveys.”
In 2018, the CPI score of Pakistan was 117 out of 180, countries which came down to 120 out of 180 countries in 2019. It worsened in 2020 when it stood at 124th position and in 2021, Pakistan got a CPI score of 140.
During the PTI’s three-year administration, corruption levels have risen across the country, despite the fact that the party campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.
Pakistan was placed 117th out of 180 countries on the CPI in 2018, but it has steadily declined over the last three years, falling to 140th in 2021. Pakistan was placed 126th on the ranking in 2020.
According to the Transparency International website, “a country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean,” and “a country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.”
Read more: Police and judiciary Pakistan’s most corrupt institutions, says Transparency International
Pakistan scored 33 out of 100 on the CPI in 2018, however due to increased corruption, this score has dropped to 28 in the 2021 report. Pakistan received a score of 32 in 2019, but only a score of 31 in 2020.
The report comes just a day after Shahzad Akbar, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Accountability and the Interior, announced his resignation from the position.
The surprise resignation occurred amid rumours of ‘behind-the-scenes’ events that may have contributed to the adviser’s “sacking,” including a rift with Prime Minister Imran over his failure to deliver.
According to the report, top corruption-free countries include Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand, having a CPI score of 88. The CPI score of Norway Singapore and Sweden is 85. The poorly performing countries of the world are South Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Venezuela, and Afghanistan with the CPI score of 11,13, 13, 14, and 16 respectively.
The Chairperson of Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio says, “Ensuring people can speak freely and work collectively to hold power to account is the only sustainable route to a corruption-free society.”
