Why are the cynics silent?

In 2015, Pakistan was the only Saarc country to have improved its position on the Corruption Perceptions Index

A recent Transparency International report has been met with an eerie silence from quarters which are usually exceptionally passionate about ‘corruption’ in Pakistan. The silence is so deafening that it makes one wonder in amazement. It is doubly queer, given that the country desperately yearns for positive news: news that highlights what the elected representatives of a poor country, ravaged by political upheavals and terrorist conspiracies have managed to do despite unfavourable odds. News that shows how resilient we are as a nation despite our historical troubles and misfortunes.

The report by Transparency International provides precisely one such positive news. It reveals four things that should make every Pakistani proud:



First, the report reveals that in 2015, Pakistan managed to reduce its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by an entire point. This means that Pakistan has jumped three full places in global rankings. The jump is so significant that analysts have referred to Pakistan and a handful of other developing countries as a “pocket of hope” in an otherwise dismal global economic situation. Second, the report reveals that Pakistan is the only country (yes, the only country) in the Saarc region to have improved its position this year. The other four countries in the region either did worse, or did no better, than their performance in the previous year. Clearly, it is illogical to assert — as the cynics so often do — that Pakistan is experiencing a ‘wave of good fortune’. The implication of this defeatist line of reasoning is that the country’s improved performance has little to do with its policy reforms since 2013 and more to do with ‘luck’. Unfortunately, it seems that there are too many cynics and too few optimists left in the country. Third, the report reveals that Pakistan’s performance not only puts regional neighbours to shame, it also outstrips the second-largest economy in the world — China — in reducing corruption in 2015. As Pakistanis, we look up to China as an economic giant that has managed to transform itself in a few decades from a poverty-stricken country to a major global player. The Transparency International report reveals that Pakistan is on the right track as it performs even better than many leading and bigger economies in the region in terms of its fight against corruption. Finally, this is the second consecutive year during which the level of corruption has fallen in the country. The year 2014, according to Transparency International, was a year of improvement; 2015 built on the previous one and took the country one step closer to greater transparency.



Returning to the cynics, it is tempting for them to blame a democratic government for every social ill while brushing aside its successes by attributing them to ‘plain good luck’. Pakistan’s recent economic success has been attributed (falsely) by these same critics on everything from ‘falling oil prices’, ‘global concessions’ and many other ‘exogenous’ factors. While these may have certainly bolstered the situation, international factors alone cannot explain the domestic situation; as I have argued above, there is no logical explanation why such a ‘lucky stroke’ (assuming there has been one) should affect Pakistan positively while negatively impacting our neighbours.

In fact, Pakistan’s recent success with respect to reducing corruption is the fruit of democracy. It is the result of our systematic move towards inclusive institutional and economic reforms that were kick-started in 2013 and are envisioned in the Pakistan 2025 vision. It is now clear and also confirmed by numerous reputable international organisations that Pakistan is one of the few Third World countries that is rising and that provides a “pocket of hope”. So why are the cynics silent?

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2016.

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