Pakistan commits to IMF on civil servants' asset disclosures, NAB autonomy

• NAB reforms to ensure transparent leadership selection.
• Anti-corruption plan targets top high-risk departments.
• Banks to access officials’ asset data.

Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of implementing key anti-corruption reforms, including public disclosure of civil servants’ asset declarations and granting greater operational autonomy to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) under agreed structural benchmarks by January 2027, The News reported.

To provide independence and operational autonomy to the leading anti-corruption agency, NAB’s institutional independence will be ensured through a transparent selection process for senior management and the publication of operating rules and statistics, under the new structural benchmark set for end-January 2027.

The government has given a written commitment to the IMF that it will review and improve the appointment process for the NAB chairman.

Under the guidance of the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee, proposed amendments to the NAB Ordinance will be developed and laid before Parliament to: (i) adopt pre-determined qualification criteria (eg, years of experience, integrity standards); (ii) establish a merit-based, open and competitive selection process; and (iii) designate a multi-sectoral stakeholder commission (with representatives from the government, opposition, judiciary, civil service, academia and civil society) to conduct an open, rules-based, rigorous and transparent recruitment.

“The government will also publish NAB’s standard operating procedures and rules, as well as annual statistics regarding the investigation, prosecution and conviction of corruption offences on NAB’s website,” the government assured the IMF.

Pakistan and the IMF have agreed on the completion of the third review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Under this agreement, Islamabad will strengthen institutional capacities and take further measures to fight corruption to support inclusive growth and a level playing field for businesses and investments.

The publication of asset declarations of high-level federal civil servants will be accomplished by the end of December 2026. The Establishment Division has revised the Civil Servant (Conduct) Rules requiring: (i) centralised digital submission and collection of asset declarations; (ii) risk-based verification; and (iii) disclosure of declarations with limited restrictions on confidential personal information.

The Establishment Division is set to revise the declaration form to specify restrictions on confidential personal information by the end of May 2026, and in coordination with the FBR, will develop a framework for risk-based verifications.

The FBR will develop a digital platform for the submission of asset declarations by the end of June 2026 to facilitate the implementation of the reform.

To grant access to asset declarations for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT) purposes, the SBP, FBR and FMU will continue to support banks’ access to asset declarations of high-level federal public officials (BPS 17-22).

The FBR has issued a notification to expand banks’ access to cover asset declarations of any officer of the federal or provincial governments or autonomous bodies, corporations and companies owned by such governments. To enhance banks’ awareness, by June 2026, the government will publish access statistics on the FBR’s website.

Tasked by the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee — constituted by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and chaired by the Minister for Law and Justice — the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been designated to lead the development of an action plan to mitigate corruption vulnerabilities in the top ten government departments identified with the highest corruption risks. This plan is to be completed by the end of October 2026 as a Structural Benchmark.

To guide the development of the plan, in consultation with and agreement of IMF staff, the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee will, by end-June 2026, develop and publish a methodology for assessing and prioritising agency-level corruption risks, along with protocols for conducting risk assessments, reporting and reviewing results of the analysis, and defining the plan to reduce corruption risks in identified agencies.

The methodology should lay out the assessment criteria, making use of relevant information held by agencies and ministries across government, including NAB, the Auditor General, the Competition Commission, the FBR and the FIA. It should consider: (i) the value of money at risk due to corruption vulnerabilities related to the agency’s functions and budget; (ii) typologies of corruption in the assessed agency; (iii) the existence of structural weaknesses that give rise to corruption vulnerabilities; and (iv) information on the frequency of corruption, including past and ongoing corruption cases.

The government has apprised the IMF that it has established three committees to monitor progress under the recently published Economic Governance Reform (EGR) plan, which implements the priority recommendations of the GCD report. Progress reports will be prepared on a six-month basis to track implementation and will be published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The government is going to organise a policy dialogue in April 2026 to discuss institutional and structural implementation issues, design of performance indicators, common challenges and cross-cutting issues, public monitoring, reporting and capacity development. The government will invite development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to participate in this process.

Based on these discussions and in close consultation with key stakeholders, the government will develop and publish outcome-based updates on progress in its semi-annual report. These updates will serve as a backdrop to a second policy dialogue in July 2026, which will take stock of the six-month implementation of the EGR plan.

The government will continue enhancing the capacities of Provincial Anti-Corruption Establishments (PACEs) to conduct financial investigations related to corruption at the provincial level. In line with the AML Act and the National Fiscal Pact, the relevant federal notification process initiated by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) will be issued by the end of December 2026, designating the PACEs to investigate money laundering related to corruption offences within their jurisdiction, and to request and receive financial intelligence from the FMU as an investigating agency.