What new truths has the IMF’s 2025 Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment Report revealed that most Pakistanis had not always known, talked about or painfully endured. Were we truly unaware of the astronomical salaries, perks and pensions granted to judges and parliamentarians? Did we not notice thousands of luxury vehicles purchased with taxpayer money to comfort the bureaucratic bottoms? Were we oblivious to our leaders’ endless foreign junkets, essentially holidaying with family and friends at public expense?
Were we blind to the non-stop barrage of shameless self-promotional ads on TV and in newspapers – proudly showcasing leaders who never contributed a single rupee of their own to the projects they claim credit for? Were we fast asleep when the Ministry of Information Technology billed Rs703 million for a two-day ‘Digital Foreign Direct Investment’ conference held on 29–30 April 2025? Were we collectively in a state of paralysis when we found out that SSWMB was siphoning off Rs3.2 billion every year from a single sanitation contract by stealing Rs22,000 from each worker’s monthly salary?
Let us not fool ourselves. We have always known exactly how our greedy insatiable elites, in a million shameless ways, have been syphoning every single drop of resource for their own benefits. The IMF report offers no startling insight — except a loud echo of our own failings. We as citizens chose convenience over conscience and silence over standing up for the voiceless. Can we reverse this equation?
Naeem Sadiq
Karachi
