Fulfilling an important demand by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government on Thursday released Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment report, which said that corruption remained a ‘permanent challenge’ in Pakistan.The report, released by the Federal Finance Ministry ahead of the IMF’s Executive Board meeting early next month, further said that corruption had a negative impact on the country’s economy.

“There is corruption at every level of government,” read the report, adding that Pakistan would gain several financial benefits through improvement in governance. “By implementing the governance reforms package, the country can increase its GDP between 5 to 6.5 per cent during the next five years.”On the other hand, the Fund has recommended several steps to Pakistan like increasing the autonomy of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe high-level corruption. 

It has also recommended setting up a centralized authority for the declaration of assets of the people’s representatives. Besides that, the international money-lending organization has also made a recommendation that there should be an increased exchange of formation between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), NAB and the AGP. Likewise, a recommendation has been made to enhance the capacity of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the crimes related to corruption.

Similarly, the IMF has asked Pakistan to increase the autonomy of the provincial anti-corruption establishment (ACE), accountability courts and making public the assets of federal government bureaucrats from 2026. A recommendation has also been made to establish Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)