CPI 2021 ranking: Opposition gets fresh ammo to shame govt

PML-N chief says corruption decreased despite massive development under Nawaz

LAHORE:

The opposition on Tuesday vehemently slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government over the country’s dismal ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), accusing the ruling party of “breaking all records of corruption in last two decades”.

The feisty finger-pointing came as the global corruption watchdog placed Pakistan at the 140th position out of 180 countries – a development that has come as a shot in the arm for the opposition and a blow for the ruling party’s anti-corruption narrative.

Taking to Twitter, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly said that the ruling party broke all the records of corruption, lamenting that the country has been “unfortunately” ranked as the fifth most corrupt country. He derided PM Imran as the “anti-corruption Mujahid”.

The leader of the opposition claimed that during former premier Nawaz Sharif's government, “corruption decreased despite the massive development,” which he claimed was the result of “transparency, good governance and legal reforms”.

He emphasised that under the current government corruption had hit “an all-time high despite the fact that no worthwhile development has taken place”.

‘A charge sheet against PTI’

Reacting to the report, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said the report was a "charge sheet against the [PTI] government," adding that it had "exposed the government's narrative".

The government that claimed to end corruption has moved above 16 countries in corruption, she said in a separate tweet.

She noted that the prime minister's adviser on accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar had resigned recently, saying it was "proof" that corruption had increased instead of decreasing.

Accountability is only for targeting opponents. International institutions are now uncovering the corruption of this government, she added.

Read: PM Imran's accountability czar Shahzad Akbar bows out

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz said that there has never been a more corrupt government in the history of Pakistan than the Imran Khan-led government.

She lambasted the ruling party and went on to say that under the rule of PM Imran “who has set a record of decline in every field, only theft and plunder has flourished”.

The PTI that came to power with a slogan to eradicate corruption has seen the graft level surge throughout the country during its three-year rule.

In 2018, Pakistan ranked at 117 out of 180 on the CPI, but over the three years, it slipped every year to reach 140 in 2021. In 2020, Pakistan ranked at 126 on the index.

A day earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar announced his surprise resignation amid swirling speculations that he had been made to resign from the post, including fallout with PM Imran over his inability to deliver.

Akbar, the insiders said, failed to live up to the expectations of the prime minister who now increasingly views corruption cases against rivals, mainly Sharifs, as a centrepiece of his anti-corruption narrative.