Corruption gone up
in Pakistan, now ranks
140 out of 180 countries

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LONDON: Pakistan has slipped by 16 points on the international Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and stands at 140th position in comparison to 124th position in 2020.

The Berlin-based non-profit releases the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) every year, ranking 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people.

Pakistan lost 16 positions in 2021 compared to 2020 and 20 positions compared to 2019. In 2020, Pakistan ranked 124th on the global corruption list and 120 in 2019.

In neighboring countries, the corruption score of India and Nepal remained unchanged; however Iran is down by one position Malaysia by five. On the other hand, Afghanistan declined by 9 and Turkey’s by 10 positions.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand topped the index this year, with 88 points each. South Sudan, Syria, Somalia and are at the bottom of the chart.

Pakistan has slipped by 16 points on the international Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and stands at 140th position in comparison to 124th position in 2020. The Berlin-based non-profit releases the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) every year, ranking 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people.

Pakistan lost 16 positions in 2021 compared to 2020 and 20 positions compared to 2019. In 2020, Pakistan ranked 124th on the global corruption list and 120 in 2019.

In neighboring countries, the corruption score of India and Nepal remained unchanged; however Iran is down by one position Malaysia by five. On the other hand, Afghanistan declined by 9 and Turkeys by 10 positions.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand topped the index this year, with 88 points each. South Sudan, Syria, Somalia and are at the bottom of the chart.

Under the PTI government, the ranking of Pakistan has gradually slid. In 2019, it was 120 out of 180 countries, in 2020, it was 124 and in 2021 it worsened further to 140. In 2018, during the PML-N government, the ranking was 117 out of 180 countries.

In its report, Transparency International found countries that violate civil liberties consistently score lower on the CPI. Complacency in fighting corruption exacerbates human rights abuses and undermines democracy, setting off a vicious spiral. As these rights and freedoms erode and democracy declines, authoritarianism takes its place, contributing to even higher levels of corruption.

According to Transparency International, the top-performing countries were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand — all having a corruption perceptions score of 88 — followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden, all of them scoring 85.

In contrast, the worst-performing countries were South Sudan with a corruption perceptions score of 11, followed by Syria (13), Somalia (13, Venezuela (14) and Afghanistan (16).

Current account deficit

Pakistan’s current account deficit surpassed USD 9 billion in the first half of the ongoing fiscal year, accounting for 5.7 per cent of the gross domestic product and analysts have expressed concerns over this with some warning that rising current account deficit will lead the country to a debt trap, a media report said citing the data released by the country’s central bank.
The State Bank of Pakistan released the data on Saturday and said that the current account deficit of USD 9.09bn was “led by significant terms of trade shock amid ongoing economic recovery”, reported Dawn. The deficit was broadly unchanged at USD 1.93bn in December from USD 1.89bn on November 21. The July-December deficit stands in total contrast to a surplus of USD 1.247bn (0.9pc of GDP) a year ago. However, that six-month surplus also turned to be a deficit of USD 1.916bn, or 0.6pc of GDP, by the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year, said the Pakistani publication.
Pakistan’s rising import bill fueled the current account deficit as the bill skyrocketed 53 per cent to USD 41.66bn during the July-December period.
The country’s fiscal deficit in the second quarter (October-December) was much higher than the previous quarter, according to the data released by the SBP.
Pakistan’s current account deficit amounted to 1.7pc and 0.6pc of GDP during the last two fiscal years (2019-20, 2020-21).

Shehbaz Sharif

President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that Transparency International has testified for the second time that the incumbent government is a thief.

Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that it is unfortunate that Pakistan has slipped 16 notches further in the corruption index. Corruption is increasing rapidly under Imran Niazi and the whole world is now saying that Pakistani Prime Minister is a thief, he added.

Lauding last tenure of PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif said that under Nawaz Sharifs honest and competent leadership, corruption in Pakistan declined as good governance, transparency and legal reforms of PML-N improved the ranking of Pakistan in the corruption index by 23 places and countrys image improved in the world.

It merits mention that Pakistan has slipped by 16 points on the international Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and stands at 140th position in comparison to 124th position in 2020.

The Berlin-based non-profit releases the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) every year, ranking 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people.

Pakistan lost 16 positions in 2021 compared to 2020 and 20 positions compared to 2019. In 2020, Pakistan ranked 124th on the global corruption list and 120 in 2019.

Sherry Rehman

Pakistan Peoples party (PPP) senior leader Sherry Rehman on Tuesday said that Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking is a charge-sheet against the incumbent government.

Sherry Rehman, in a tweet, said that decline of Pakistans ranking by 16 positions in the report exposes the governments narrative. The rulers who promised to end corruption in the country have in fact increased the ill-practice in country.

The PPP leader said that governments accountability drive is only to target political opponents; however, the report has exposing the corruption of PTI, she added.