Corruption report by Transparency International is biased, says Awan

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday said that a recently released Transparency International (TI) report on corruption was biased.

Pakistan was ranked 120 out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019 by the TI, an international non-governmental organization based in Berlin.  

Talking to the media in Islamabad on Friday afternoon, Awan said that the report was "not free and fair", alleging that there had been more corruption in Pakistan during the government of former premier Nawaz Sharif. 

Also read: Pakistan slips three spots on Corruption Perceptions Index

"There is a long history of corruption in Sindh. The government of former premier Nawaz Sharif gave undue benefits to the chief of the group here in Pakistan," the assistant to the PM alleged. 

"Who will accept the Transparency International report?" Awan asked, noting that the government of Sharif had even given a diplomatic posting to the chief of TI in order to gain undue favors. 

Also read: Pakistan sees slight improvement in global corruption index

CPI report

According the latest CPI report, corruption in Pakistan increased in 2019 as against 2018.

Scoring 32 on the CPI in 2019, Pakistan not only fell one point below the 2018 score of 33, but also dropped three stages in the world ranking from the previous 117th to the latest 120th among 180 countries. 

It means that Pakistan, which was previously 63rd most corrupt country, is now 60th most corrupt nation. This is also the first time in ten years that Pakistan registered a decrease in their CPI score, reported The News.

"Pakistan has been consistently improving its position against corruption for the last 10 years but 2019 -- the first complete year of Imran Khan government -- proved to be disappointment for being more corrupt than before."