Corruption in Pakistan

Political corruption
Corruption Perceptions Index, 2010
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Corruption in Pakistan is a well established phenomenon.^[1] The country has had a consistently poor ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index, being 143rd with a score of 2.3 out of 10 in 2010.^[2]

History

Pakistan was created as a result of the partition of India and the British left behind a strong bureaucracy and army. The country was divided again when Eastern Pakistan seceded to form Bangladesh. A factor in this division was that Bengal's elite and ruling class had been Hindus who were displaced by the partition, while the Punjab's rich land-owning class were Muslims and so had retained power.^[3]

National Accountability Ordinance

Individuals convicted under the National Accountability Ordinance are prohibited from holding political office for ten years.^[4]

Courts

Further information: Court system of Pakistan

In 2010, 69% of those surveyed reported that they or someone in their household was subjected to an act of corruption when interacting with the judicial system. Of 339 affirmative respondents asked to identify the actors involved in corruption, 119 said court employees, 84 said a public prosecutor, 50 said a witness, 44 said a judge, 29 said an opponent lawyer, 16 said magistrates, and 12 said others.^[5][6]

Education

Further information: Education in Pakistan

As of 2010, 24% of those surveyed reported that they themselves or a family member received educational admission through non-normal. The countries biggest issue is presence of non uniform educational system.On one hand there are institutions modeled on western educational system; This system is run by private sector educational institutes that charge fees a ordinary citizen cannot afford. So essentially these institutes are utilized by the elite class( Politicians , Technocrats, Bureaucrats,Business class) .The same is also the reason for deteriorating standards of Public Sector educational institutes.As the elite class only enroll there children in private schools modeled on western institutes.

Than there are Government run public schools that face increasing challenges and due to incompetence of consecutive Governments has only accelerated the rate of their decline.Lack of funding, Elite class non utilization, Poor Governance ,Under qualified Faculty are some of the reasons for their falling standards.Corruption in education sector is not a novice in Pakistan . Embezzlement of funds , Thousands of ghost schools ( those that only exist in papers), taking bribe to sell confidential material to candidates,Poor utilization of funds, Educational Ministry run by illiterate politicians that lack vision for education.

Health care

Further information: Health care in Pakistan

In 2010, 42% of surveyed individuals reported gaining access to hospital services by a method other than standard admission, and 48% reported either having to pay additional costs for essential services or being forced to utilize the services of a designated affiliate. Of the respondents who were asked to identify which parties orchestrated the corrupt acts, 61% reported hospital staff, 25% reported doctors, and 13% reported nurses.^[6]

Law enforcement

Further information: Law enforcement in Pakistan

According to 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2010 surveys, the majority of respondents consistently view the police as being the most corrupt sector of Pakistani government. In the 2010 survey, 31% of 4,224 respondents reported paying bribes to the police.^[6]

In 2005, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered an investigation into claims by a 23-year-old woman who alleged that, in retaliation for attempting to reveal police corruption, police falsely detained her for fifteen days and raped her.^[7]

As of 2010, videos captured of officers taking bribes in various locales such as Peshawar and Quetta have been uploaded to YouTube.^[8][9]

Public utilities

Further information: Electricity sector in Pakistan

As of 2002, 96% of surveyed individuals reported corruption issues with electrical utility officials during the past year.^[5] The most common types of corruption were billing related. Some consumers admitted to illegally reducing their utility bills, while others reported being harassed with inflated bills intended to solicit bribes. Out of the pool of corruption-affirmative respondents, 71% reported that money was "demanded directly by the actor".^[5]

Taxation

Further information: Taxation in Pakistan

According to the 2002 study, 99% of 256 respondents reported facing corruption of taxation. Furthermore, 32% of respondents reported paying bribes to have their tax assessment lowered, and nearly 14% reported receiving fictitious tax assessments until a bribe was paid.^[5]

See also

• Government of Pakistan

Further reading

• "National Corruption Perception Survey, 2010" (PDF). Transparency International–Pakistan. 2010-06-01. http://transparency.org.pk/report/ncps%202010/ncps2010A5.pdf. 
• "How Integrity Pacts Helped Generate Market Competition in Pakistan" (PDF). Transparency International–Pakistan. http://transparency.org.pk/pub/Integrity%20Pact_Psteel.pdf. 
• "Annual Report on Pakistan" (PDF). Transparency International–Pakistan. 2009. http://transparency.org.pk/documents/annual%20report%202009.pdf. 

References

1. ^ Susan Rose-Ackerman, Corruption and good governance, United Nations Development Programme, p. 4, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fwYVAQAAIAAJ 
2. ^ Marie Chêne, Overview of corruption in Pakistan, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, http://www.u4.no/helpdesk/helpdesk/query.cfm?id=174 
3. ^ Aftab Ahmad (2001), "Historical antecedents of corruption in Pakistan", The political economy of corruption, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iPyYqBpuV6IC&pg=PA142 
4. ^ Pakistan, "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (United States Department of State), 2004-02-25, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27950.htm, retrieved 2010-11-07 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Nature & Extent of Corruption in the Public Sector" (PDF). Transparency International–Pakistan. 2002. http://www.transparency.org.pk/documents/csr.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "National Corruption Perception Survey, 2010" (PDF). Transparency International–Pakistan. 2010-06-01. http://transparency.org.pk/report/ncps%202010/ncps2010A5.pdf. 
7. ^ "Pakistan police in rape, corruption probe". The New Zealand Herald. 2005-09-01. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343472. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 
8. ^ "Pakistan Police corruption". YouTube. 2009-09-28. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18RGOJZWfvs. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 
9. ^ "Pakistan Police taking bribe". YouTube. 2009-08-10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV3Z0nQDfKM. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 

External links

Corruption in Pakistan at Transparency International–Pakistan