Corruption remains a substantial obstacle for Pakistan where it is still perceived to be widespread and systemic. Petty corruption in the form of bribery is prevalent in law enforcement, procurement and the provision of public services. The judiciary is not seen as independent and considered to be shielding corrupt political practices from prosecution. The most corrupt sectors are judiciary, education, health care, police & law enforcement, public utilities, sports and taxation.
Corruption has plagued Pakistan from the very moment it came into existence. It was the unrepentant display of plutocracy amongst its powerful bureaucracy and the West Pakistani Punjabi Muslim landowners that partly led to the secession of East Pakistan into the nation-state of Bangladesh. Later, nationalisation policies prepared under the government of prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto paved the way for the corrupt elites to politicise the nation’s economic planning resulting in a public outcry against corruption. This led Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to draft policies regarding denationalisation of institutions which only ended up benefiting a few rich business magnates.
In recent times, the 2008–2013 coalition government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party is criticised as the most corrupt government in the nation’s history. This led to the sudden decline in corruption in 2013 when the PPP-led government was voted out from office. Since then, there is a growing need to reform accountability and anti-corruption policies at higher levels within the state government
Corruption in Pakistan is widespread, particularly in the government and lower levels of police forces. In 2013, Pakistan scored 127 out of 175 on the Corruption Perceptions Index published by the Transparency International. This marked a significant improvement in the country’s ranking on the index in five years – the country scored 139 out of 174 in 2012, 134 out of 182 in 2011, 143 out of 178 in 2010, and 139 out of 180 in 2009.
Various efforts over the past years have tried to develop institutional mechanisms to address these problems. A National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which was developed in 2002, offers a comprehensive plan for tackling corruption. The executing agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), is endowed with comprehensive powers to investigate and prosecute cases. However, a lack of political will, coupled with the perceived co-option of the judiciary and the arbitrariness of many anti-corruption proceedings, are major obstacles.