Daily Times

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Tuesday said the country’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International was dropped due to weak implementation of law and ‘state capture’.

“The concrete and specific report has not yet been published, only score was reported. The criteria of Transparency International for assessment is based on different issues pertaining to financial corruption, accountability, rule of law and state capture,” he said while addressing the media after the Federal Cabinet meeting. Fawad said it was told that the score of Pakistan was not brought down due to financial corruption, but weak ‘rule of law’ and ‘state capture’ were the reasons. The report did not include any kind of financial corruption.

Citing names of different institutions and non-governmental organizations that took part in preparing the report, he said only The Economist Intelligence Unit lowered Pakistan’s score while assessment of all others remained unchanged. The media, he added, should check with the head of Economist Intelligence Unit in Pakistan as to why the country’s ranking was dropped on the basis of rule of law. “I am not getting into controversy whether it is correct or not. Undoubtedly, there is a need to take steps for strengthening rule of law in Pakistan,” he said, adding Prime Minister Imran Khan had time and again stressed on establishing rule of law. There was an impression that there were two different laws for the rich and the poor, and “such impression severely hurts any kind of perception about the country”, he remarked.

The minister said all the institutions needed to work collectively for establishing the rule of law in letter and spirit. He reiterated his demand of allowing the cameras in the court for live broadcast of the cases of national importance. “I have made an appeal in the news conference the other day that the cases of Shehbaz Sharif and Asif Zardari should be telecast live so that the people can assess themselves whether the same are factually correct or not,” he added. There was no problem in that regard as such steps would improve Pakistan’s perception at international level, he maintained.

Fawad said a comprehensive response would be given once Transparency International released its complete report. Divulging the details of cabinet meeting, he said it endorsed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) decision for utilizing Rs 5 billion to carry out fresh census in the current year.

The whole census process was likely to be completed by December, with the result of its pilot project finalized by April or May and and then the Election Commission would be able to start working on new delimitation in January next year, he added. He expressed the confidence that the general election 2023 would be held under fresh delimitation, as the process for holding the census was expedited for the purpose.

Fawad said the cabinet accorded approval to the draft comprehensive legal reforms, which would be presented to the Parliament. Under the reforms, it would be mandatory for the courts to dispose of criminal cases within nine months and in case of delay, presiding judges and prosecutors would be bound to give reasons to the chief justices of concerned high courts. The police’s power of bail under suo moto would be strengthened, while a plea bargain clause had been suggested for the accused in criminal cases, he added. The minister said under the new law, the station house officer would have to be a graduate and an officer of the rank of sub-inspector. He said an independent prosecution service would be launched, forensic laboratories upgraded, and the latest equipment and devices introduced for investigation of cases.

It was proposed for the police to file a challan in the court within 45 days instead of 14, which often compromised the investigation process, he added. The minister said that during the briefing by the Ministry of Planning and Development, the cabinet was informed that overall economic situation was stable.