Daily Times

Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has ranked Pakistan 117 out of 180 countries in its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), giving the country a score of 32; the same as last year. Meaning that the country’s ranking has dropped just one spot since 2016.

With the score still below 50 — Pakistan is still considered highly corrupt. According to Transparency International, graft is more likely to occur in countries where the media is not free and limitations on free speech exist. And here in Pakistan, we recognise the link between independence of the fourth estate and our improved CPI ranking since the 1990s. Back in 1995, when this Index was first published — we ranked 39 out of 41 countries.

Yet much more needs to be done. For while we are home to a vibrant media industry — curbs still prevail when it comes to free speech. And, often, these are imposed violently. Pakistan comes in at number seven on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Global Impunity Index (GII), which aims to rank countries where journalists and media persons can be targeted with little or no consequence. According to the media watchdog, at least 21 journalists have been murdered in Pakistan in the past decade; with prosecution occurring in just two instances. Indeed, two cases stand out; both from 2016. First, Shabbir Siham was charged with violating the Anti-Terrorism Act by authorities in Gilgit Baltistan for writing a column criticising the regional legislative assembly. Second, Daulat Jan Mathal was booked for publishing “anti-state material” for his role in editing a publication that supported national autonomy for GB. This underscores how the authorities exploit the pretexts of combating terrorism and protecting the national interest to censure journalists in this country.

Towards this end, Transparency International recommends that regimes and civil society alike focus on laws covering access to information. There was some progress in this regard back in August 2017 when Pakistan passed the Right of Access to Information Bill. While this gives the citizenry the right to peruse records of government authorities — those pertaining to the armed forces remain inaccessible. Furthermore, the ‘value’ of this bill is up for debate given that only 58 percent of Pakistanis are literate.

In short, this country is still treated as a playground for the corrupt. Back in August 2017, Prime Minister Abassi contended that the PML-N government had set a precedent for graft-free free governance; a mere month after the Supreme Court sent his predecessor packing on fraud-related charges. Yet fast-forward to today and the Auditor General of Pakistan this month found discrepancies worth Rs300 billion in the accounts of the Punjab government. These included Rs27 billion in excess payments for the controversial Lahore Orange Line Metro Project. We therefore hope that the next government gets its priorities right and does more to protect the rights of civil society and media workers. Bluntly put, we need a set-up that walks the walk rather than simply talking the talk. For the people of Pakistan have heard it all before.  *

Published in Daily Times, February 25^th 2018.